5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to look at the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges like a valuable and feasible alternative for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was talking in the course of an oversight visit into the post-school education and instruction (PSET) establishments in the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as crucial for job creation and youth skills development inside the place.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and also the Cape Peninsula {University of Technology (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits geared toward evaluating the point out of readiness of bigger education institutions across the country, forward of the 2025 academic year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to acquire pleasure in acquiring artisan abilities as they provide good entrepreneurship alternatives.
"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, students at CPUT expressed concerns about student residences as well as other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the get more info discovered challenges.
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 western tvet college TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
During the visits, the Deputy Minister has become accompanied by critical senior officers from Higher website 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 challenges confronted because of the tvet colleges open NSFAS was while in the spotlight in the course of 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 2025, to establish the state of readiness for the 2025 academic more info 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