5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to take into account the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges being a worthwhile and practical choice for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was talking throughout an oversight visit for the post-school education and training (PSET) establishments inside the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as important for job creation and youth skills development in the region.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, as well as the Cape Peninsula {University of Technologies (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed at evaluating the state of readiness of higher education institutions across the country, in advance of your 2025 educational year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to choose pleasure in obtaining artisan techniques 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," Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, get more info college students at CPUT expressed concerns about college student residences and various facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the discovered difficulties.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to higher education institutions website 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 continues to be accompanied by vital senior officers from click here 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 issue of funding and administrative troubles faced from the NSFAS was from the spotlight capricorn tvet college during 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 check here 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 on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za