5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to evaluate the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges for a useful and practical substitute for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking in the course of an oversight visit into the post-school education and education (PSET) establishments within the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as vital for job creation and youth skills development from the country.
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 state of readiness of larger education institutions across the nation, in advance of your 2025 academic year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to just take pleasure in attaining artisan abilities as they offer excellent entrepreneurship chances.
"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 read more students at CPUT expressed problems about college student residences and various facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the tvet colleges open for late applications Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the recognized challenges.
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.
Over 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 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 issues confronted from the NSFAS was while in the spotlight during 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 get more info 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 Education and Training sector held in January 2025, to establish more info the state of readiness for the 2025 academic year.
The Deputy Minister's oversight is expected to continue in here other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za