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 being a beneficial and feasible choice for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was speaking all through an oversight visit for the post-school education and schooling (PSET) institutions inside the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as very important for job creation and youth skills development in the nation.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, along with the Cape Peninsula {University of Engineering (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward evaluating the condition of readiness of better education institutions across the nation, in advance of the 2025 educational year.
During the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to take pride in attaining artisan skills as they supply terrific entrepreneurship alternatives.
"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 problems about college student residences and also other tvet colleges open facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the discovered 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 website visits, the Deputy Minister is accompanied by key 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 problem of funding and western tvet college administrative problems faced because of the NSFAS was from the spotlight during the Free State leg of the visits.
"NSFAS check here 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 read more 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 on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za