5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to consider the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as a beneficial and practical substitute for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking throughout an oversight visit to the post-school education and schooling (PSET) institutions during the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as very important for job creation and youth skills development inside the place.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, as well as the Cape Peninsula {University of Technological innovation (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed at assessing the condition of readiness of bigger education institutions across the nation, ahead in the 2025 academic year.
Over the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to take pride in obtaining artisan expertise as they offer wonderful entrepreneurship chances.
"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, students at CPUT expressed issues about student residences as well as other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the discovered challenges.
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 Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the visits, the Deputy Minister has long been accompanied by critical senior officials from check here 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 worries confronted from the NSFAS was during the spotlight in the course of the Free State leg from the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances are paid on time with click here 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 check here 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 sedibeng tvet college 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 expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions here being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za