5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to evaluate the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges being a important and viable substitute for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was talking all through an oversight visit into the post-school education and schooling (PSET) establishments from the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as very important for job creation and youth skills development in the state.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, plus the Cape Peninsula {University of Technologies (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits directed at assessing the state of readiness of bigger education institutions across the country, ahead with the 2025 educational year.
During the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to just take delight in buying artisan abilities as they offer excellent entrepreneurship chances.
"I'm 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, students at CPUT expressed problems about click here college student residences along with other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the determined troubles.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to higher education institutions in the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of elangeni tvet college Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the visits, the Deputy Minister has been accompanied by key senior officers from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (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 issue of funding and administrative problems confronted with the NSFAS was from the spotlight over the Free State leg on the visits.
"NSFAS needs get more info to get its act together, in order more info to ensure that student allowances are paid on time with no delays. Delays cause serious challenges for learners; learners need allowances to eat 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 here the state of readiness for the 2025 academic year.
The Deputy Minister's oversight is expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za