5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to take into account the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as a useful and practical substitute for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was talking in the course of an oversight visit into the post-school education and coaching (PSET) institutions inside the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as critical 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 condition of readiness of greater education institutions across the nation, in advance with the 2025 academic year.
In the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to get pride in attaining artisan capabilities as they offer excellent entrepreneurship opportunities.
"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 college student residences and also other services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the determined challenges.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to read more higher education institutions in the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Through the visits, the Deputy Minister has long been accompanied by crucial senior officers from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
The Deputy read more Minister’s dedicated Help Desk has also formed part of the delegation, read more assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The difficulty of funding and administrative here problems faced via the NSFAS was within the spotlight through 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 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 website 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 provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za