5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to consider the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to be a useful and practical substitute for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking through an oversight visit towards the post-school education and schooling (PSET) institutions from the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development in the nation.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, as well as Cape Peninsula {University of Know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward evaluating the condition of readiness of better education institutions across the nation, ahead in the 2025 educational year.
Throughout the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to get delight in buying artisan competencies 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 worries about college student residences together with other services. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the recognized 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 College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Through the visits, the Deputy Minister has become accompanied by crucial senior officials from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student get more info 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 challenges confronted because of the NSFAS was from the spotlight in the tvet colleges open course of the Free State leg in 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 by Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane at the special meeting of the Post read more Education and Training sector held in January 2025, to establish the state of readiness for the 2025 academic year.
The more info Deputy Minister's oversight is expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education read more institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za