5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to look at the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges like a valuable and feasible substitute for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was talking all through an oversight visit into the post-school education and schooling (PSET) institutions while in the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as very important for job creation and youth skills development within the place.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, as well as Cape Peninsula {University of Engineering (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits directed at assessing the point out of readiness of higher education institutions across the country, ahead on the 2025 educational year.
Over the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to acquire pleasure in getting artisan capabilities as they offer excellent entrepreneurship prospects.
"I am very encouraged by what I'm seeing at TVET colleges, I believe they are the future of this country. TVETs are producing artisans with much needed skills [and] also offer opportunities for learners to acquire future skills, such as robotics, AI [Artificial intelligence], and coding," Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, college students at CPUT expressed concerns about student residences as well as other services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student here Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the recognized difficulties.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to higher education website institutions in the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
During the visits, the Deputy Minister is accompanied by vital senior officials from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme here (NSFAS).
The Deputy Minister’s dedicated Help Desk has also formed part of the delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The problem of funding and administrative troubles faced by the NSFAS was in the spotlight in the Free State leg with the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances are paid on time with no delays. Delays cause serious challenges for learners; learners need allowances to eat read more and to buy hygiene products. This is important for their sense of wellbeing and dignity," Gondwe said.
Gondwe embarked on the state of readiness visits following a plan of action, announced by Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane at the special meeting of the Post Education and Training sector held in January 2025, to establish the state of readiness for the 2025 academic year.
The Deputy Minister's oversight is orbit tvet college expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za