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 like a worthwhile and feasible different for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was speaking for the duration of an oversight visit to your post-school education and schooling (PSET) institutions within the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as essential for job creation and youth skills development while in the place.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and also the Cape Peninsula {University of Know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward evaluating the point out of readiness of larger education institutions across the nation, ahead in the 2025 educational year.
During the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to acquire delight in buying artisan skills as they provide wonderful entrepreneurship opportunities.
"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 expressed fears about college student residences and other amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of read more the discovered issues.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to higher education institutions in tvet colleges open for late applications the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Through the visits, the Deputy Minister has long been accompanied by vital 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 worries faced with the NSFAS was while in the spotlight through the Free State leg from the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that elangeni tvet college student allowances are paid on time with no delays. Delays website 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 thekwini tvet college on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za