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 for a worthwhile and viable different for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was talking for the duration of an oversight visit to the post-school education and schooling (PSET) establishments inside the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development while in the place.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, as well as the Cape Peninsula {University of Technological know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits geared toward evaluating the point out of readiness of higher education institutions across the country, forward on the 2025 educational year.
In the course of the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to get delight in attaining artisan expertise as they provide good entrepreneurship possibilities.
"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], website and coding," Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, students at CPUT expressed worries about college student residences as well as other facilities. The Deputy read more Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the discovered issues.
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 is accompanied by essential senior officials from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial Aid click here Scheme (NSFAS).
The Deputy Minister’s dedicated Help Desk has also formed part of the delegation, assisting more info with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The difficulty of funding and administrative issues faced from the NSFAS was in the spotlight in the course of the Free State leg on 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 following a plan of action, announced by Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane at the special meeting here 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 on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za