5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to consider the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges for a useful and practical alternative for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was speaking in the course of an oversight visit into the post-school education and coaching (PSET) establishments inside the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development from the state.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and also the Cape Peninsula {University of Technological know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed at assessing the state of readiness of larger education institutions across the country, ahead in the 2025 academic year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to get satisfaction in obtaining artisan expertise as they offer excellent 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 concerns about college student residences and various amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the determined troubles.
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 campus.
In the course of the visits, the Deputy Minister is accompanied by important 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 difficulty of funding and administrative problems faced through the NSFAS was from the spotlight in the course of the Free State leg from 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 sedibeng tvet college serious challenges for learners; get more info 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 click here 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 website 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 website the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za