5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to look at the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as being a worthwhile and practical alternative for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was speaking in the course of an oversight visit to your post-school education and coaching (PSET) institutions within the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as crucial for job creation and youth skills development in the nation.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, plus the Cape Peninsula {University of Technological innovation (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward assessing the point out of readiness of increased education institutions across the country, in advance on the 2025 academic year.
During the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to consider pleasure in getting artisan techniques as they offer good entrepreneurship options.
"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, students at CPUT expressed worries about here college student residences along with other amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the discovered problems.
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 here and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the course of the visits, the Deputy Minister continues to be accompanied by crucial senior officials from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
The Deputy Minister’s dedicated check here Help Desk has also formed part of the delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The problem of funding and administrative troubles confronted via the NSFAS was in the spotlight through the Free State leg on the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure here 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 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 read more in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za