5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to take into account the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to be a valuable and feasible alternative for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was talking all through an oversight visit on the post-school education and training (PSET) establishments within the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as vital for job creation and youth skills development within the state.
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 directed at assessing the condition of readiness of bigger education institutions across the country, ahead on the 2025 academic year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to consider pride in obtaining artisan abilities as they offer great entrepreneurship possibilities.
"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," capricorn tvet college 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 institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the identified 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 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 check here all higher education related queries on each visit.
The problem of funding and administrative challenges faced by the NSFAS was while in the spotlight through the here Free State leg of the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure 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 get more info 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 check here 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