5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to evaluate the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as a beneficial and practical choice for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was speaking in the course of an oversight visit towards the post-school education and training (PSET) establishments inside the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development inside the state.
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 directed at assessing the condition of readiness of higher education institutions across the country, in advance from the 2025 educational year.
During the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to acquire pride in getting artisan skills as they offer wonderful entrepreneurship opportunities.
"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 esayidi tvet college visit, thekwini tvet college students at CPUT expressed problems about college student residences as well as other services. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the determined 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 the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Throughout the visits, the Deputy Minister has become accompanied by essential senior officers from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
The Deputy Minister’s dedicated Help Desk has also click here formed part of the delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The problem of funding and administrative troubles confronted with the NSFAS read more was from the spotlight over 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 eat and to buy hygiene products. This is important for their sense of wellbeing and dignity," Gondwe said.
Gondwe tvet college courses without matric 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 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