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 being a beneficial and practical choice for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was speaking in the course of an oversight visit for the post-school education and coaching (PSET) establishments within the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as essential for job creation and youth skills development in the state.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, plus the Cape Peninsula {University of Technological innovation (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed at evaluating the condition of readiness of increased education institutions across the nation, forward from the 2025 academic year.
In the course of the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to choose pride in attaining artisan skills as they offer good entrepreneurship options.
"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 considerations about here student residences and other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the identified issues.
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 check here 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 of the delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The problem of funding and administrative difficulties faced via the NSFAS was while in the spotlight throughout 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 umfolozi tvet college wellbeing and dignity," Gondwe said.
Gondwe embarked on the state of readiness visits following a plan of action, announced by Higher Education sedibeng tvet college 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 tvet colleges open for applications North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za