5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to look at the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges like a valuable and viable option for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking in the course of an oversight visit for the post-school education and education (PSET) establishments from the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as essential for job creation and youth skills development within the state.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, as well as the Cape Peninsula {University of Technological know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward examining the condition of readiness of bigger education institutions across the country, forward on the 2025 educational year.
Throughout the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to choose pride in getting artisan techniques as they provide excellent entrepreneurship prospects.
"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, college students at CPUT expressed issues about student residences and also other services. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the determined difficulties.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows here her recent visit to higher education institutions in the Free State check here where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the visits, the Deputy Minister has been accompanied by important 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 issue of funding and administrative problems faced by the NSFAS was in the spotlight during the Free State leg from the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances are paid on check here 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 here 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