5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to evaluate the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as a valuable and feasible alternate for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking during an oversight visit to your post-school education and training (PSET) institutions from the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as vital for job creation and youth skills development from the region.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, as well as the Cape Peninsula {University of Technology (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed at examining the point out of readiness of higher education institutions across the country, ahead in the 2025 academic year.
Over the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to acquire pleasure in acquiring artisan abilities as they offer fantastic entrepreneurship options.
"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 concerns about college student residences and various services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the determined concerns.
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 here College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Through the visits, the Deputy Minister continues to be 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 troubles faced by the NSFAS was from the spotlight in the course of the Free State leg on the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure sedibeng tvet college that student allowances are paid on time with lephalale tvet college 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 here 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 expected to continue in other more info provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za