5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to look at the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges being a worthwhile and feasible substitute for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking during an oversight visit into the post-school education and teaching (PSET) establishments in the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as very important for job creation and youth skills development while in the country.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and the Cape Peninsula {University of Know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward examining the state of readiness of better education institutions across the country, ahead of the 2025 educational year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to choose satisfaction in getting artisan expertise as they offer fantastic 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, students at CPUT expressed considerations about student residences and also other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the determined challenges.
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 has elangeni tvet college 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 elangeni tvet collegetvet college courses without matric higher education related queries on each visit.
The problem of funding and administrative worries confronted by the NSFAS was while in the spotlight over the Free State leg from the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances check here 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 tvet college courses without matric 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