5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to evaluate the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges for a valuable and practical option for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was talking all through an oversight visit into the post-school education and instruction (PSET) establishments during the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as vital for job creation and youth skills development from the state.
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 condition of readiness of larger education institutions across the nation, forward with the 2025 academic year.
In the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to consider pride in acquiring artisan abilities as they offer fantastic entrepreneurship possibilities.
"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, college students at CPUT expressed fears about college student residences together with other services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of 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 website Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the course of the visits, the Deputy Minister has become accompanied by crucial senior officials from Higher Education and Training, and click here 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 check here each visit.
The difficulty of funding and administrative umfolozi tvet college issues faced by the NSFAS was during 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 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 orbit tvet college 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