5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to think about the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as being a beneficial and practical different for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was speaking in the course of an oversight visit towards the post-school education and instruction (PSET) establishments in the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development within the place.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, along with the Cape Peninsula {University of Technological innovation (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed at assessing the condition of readiness of bigger education institutions across the country, ahead in the 2025 educational year.
During the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to get delight in attaining artisan competencies as they supply fantastic entrepreneurship prospects.
"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 problems about student residences and other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the discovered difficulties.
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 more info Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Through the visits, the Deputy Minister continues to be 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 click here the delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The problem of funding and administrative difficulties confronted from the NSFAS was from the spotlight here through the Free State leg of 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 check here 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 tvet college courses next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za