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 for a important and viable alternative for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was speaking through an oversight visit to the post-school education and teaching (PSET) establishments in the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as crucial for job creation and youth skills development while in the state.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and the Cape Peninsula {University of Technology (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward assessing the point out of readiness of higher education institutions across the country, ahead from the 2025 academic year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to consider delight in attaining artisan skills as they offer great entrepreneurship options.
"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 fears about college student residences and other services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the discovered difficulties.
The Deputy check here 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.
Over the visits, the Deputy Minister has become accompanied by vital 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 issue of funding and administrative challenges confronted through the NSFAS was within tvet colleges open for applications the spotlight during the Free State leg of your visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances western tvet college are paid on time with no delays. Delays cause serious challenges for learners; learners need allowances to eat here 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 establish the state of readiness for the 2025 academic year.
The Deputy Minister's oversight is expected to click here continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za