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 like a precious and feasible alternate for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was speaking during an oversight visit to your post-school education and training (PSET) institutions from the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as crucial for job creation and youth skills development from the country.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and also the Cape Peninsula {University of Engineering (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits directed at examining the state of readiness of increased education institutions across the country, forward with the 2025 academic year.
Throughout the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to get delight in attaining artisan skills as they offer excellent entrepreneurship prospects.
"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 read more visit, college students at CPUT expressed problems about college student residences and various amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the identified 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 more info and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Throughout the visits, the Deputy Minister has been 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 esayidi tvet college of the delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The difficulty of funding and administrative issues faced by the NSFAS was from the spotlight in the Free State leg on the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student letaba tvet college 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 esayidi tvet college 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