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 to be a valuable and practical different for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was talking during an oversight visit into the post-school education and schooling (PSET) institutions in the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as crucial for job creation and youth skills development from the nation.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and the Cape Peninsula {University of Technologies (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits targeted at examining the state of readiness of larger education institutions across the nation, in advance of the 2025 academic year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to just take pleasure in attaining artisan abilities as they offer fantastic entrepreneurship chances.
"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, students at CPUT expressed issues about college student residences and other amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the determined concerns.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit elangeni tvet college to tvet college courses without matric higher education institutions in the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Through the visits, the Deputy Minister continues to be accompanied by vital senior officials 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 read more administrative troubles faced because of the NSFAS was inside the spotlight in the Free State leg in 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 of the Post Education and Training sector held in January tvet colleges open for late applications 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 here the list.
– SAnews.gov.za