5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to think about the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges being a useful and viable alternative for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking in the course of an oversight visit on the post-school education and coaching (PSET) establishments while in the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as essential 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 directed at assessing the condition of readiness of increased education institutions across the nation, in advance of the 2025 academic year.
In the course of the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to acquire pleasure in obtaining artisan abilities as they provide wonderful 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, students at CPUT expressed concerns about college student residences together with other services. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the recognized problems.
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.
During the visits, the Deputy Minister has been accompanied by key senior coastal tvet college officers from Higher Education and Training, and tvet college courses without matric 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 through the NSFAS was from the spotlight over website the Free State leg from the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to more info 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 of the Post Education and Training sector held in January 2025, to lephalale tvet college 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