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 for a beneficial and practical different for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was talking all through an oversight visit on the post-school education and coaching (PSET) institutions from the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as crucial for job creation and youth skills development from the country.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and the Cape Peninsula {University of Technologies (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits targeted at examining the state of readiness of increased education institutions across the nation, ahead in the 2025 academic year.
Over the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to take satisfaction in getting artisan techniques as they supply wonderful 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 website second part of the visit, college students at CPUT expressed problems about student residences and other services. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the recognized concerns.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent here 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 course of the visits, the Deputy Minister has become accompanied by crucial senior officials elangeni tvet college 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 difficulty of funding and administrative troubles faced via the NSFAS was during the spotlight over 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 lephalale tvet college 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 for the 2025 academic year.
The Deputy Minister's oversight is expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education here institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za