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 to be a useful and feasible different for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking in the course of an oversight visit on the post-school education and instruction (PSET) establishments in the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as very important for job creation and youth skills development during the region.
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 point out of readiness of increased education institutions across the nation, forward of the 2025 academic year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to just take pride in acquiring artisan expertise as they provide fantastic 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 students at CPUT read more expressed concerns about student residences and various facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the determined troubles.
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 is accompanied by crucial senior officers from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student western tvet college Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
The Deputy Minister’s dedicated Help Desk has also formed part of the delegation, assisting with website all higher education related queries on each visit.
The issue of funding and administrative troubles confronted via the NSFAS was while in the spotlight through website the Free State leg of the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances are paid on time with no delays. get more info 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 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