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 precious and practical alternate for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was speaking during an oversight visit towards 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 from the state.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, along with the Cape Peninsula {University of Engineering (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward evaluating the point out of readiness of better education institutions across the nation, in advance of your 2025 academic year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to take satisfaction in obtaining artisan competencies as they provide terrific entrepreneurship prospects.
"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 visit, college students at CPUT expressed worries about student residences and various services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to letaba tvet college operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the identified 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.
Throughout the visits, the Deputy Minister has actually 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 through the NSFAS was during the spotlight through the Free State leg from the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that click here student allowances tvet college courses 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 read more 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 western tvet college higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za