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 precious and viable different for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was speaking throughout an oversight visit into the post-school education and coaching (PSET) establishments while in the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development during the nation.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, plus the Cape Peninsula {University of Technological innovation (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits directed at assessing the point out of readiness of greater education institutions across the nation, ahead from the 2025 academic year.
In the course of the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to consider pleasure in obtaining artisan techniques as they provide good entrepreneurship possibilities.
"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, more info students at CPUT expressed issues about college student residences along with other amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student Representative Council website (SRC), to speedily take care of the identified issues.
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 here the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Through the visits, the Deputy Minister has actually been accompanied by essential senior officials 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 problem of funding and administrative problems faced by the NSFAS was in the spotlight in 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 more info 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 the state of readiness tvet colleges open 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