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 a beneficial and viable alternative for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was speaking throughout an oversight visit to the post-school education and training (PSET) institutions within the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as very important for job creation and youth skills development while in the region.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and also the Cape Peninsula {University of Know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits geared toward evaluating the condition of readiness of increased education institutions across the nation, ahead in the 2025 educational year.
Over the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to choose pride in obtaining artisan capabilities as they provide wonderful entrepreneurship alternatives.
"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 website CPUT expressed fears about college student residences and various amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of 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.
In the course of the visits, the Deputy Minister is accompanied by important senior officers from Higher Education and motheo tvet college 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 get more info funding and administrative issues confronted from the NSFAS was in the spotlight in the Free State leg with the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student more info 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 more info to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za