5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to take into account the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to be a valuable and feasible alternate for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was speaking throughout an oversight visit for the post-school education and coaching (PSET) establishments while in the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as important for job creation and youth skills development within the place.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, plus the Cape Peninsula {University of Technologies (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward assessing the point out of readiness of larger education institutions across the country, ahead of your 2025 academic year.
Throughout the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to just take pride in attaining artisan expertise as they supply good entrepreneurship options.
"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, more info AI [Artificial intelligence], and coding," Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, students at CPUT expressed fears about student residences along with other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the discovered concerns.
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.
Over the visits, the Deputy Minister has tvet college courses become accompanied by crucial 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 issue of funding and administrative troubles faced with the NSFAS was in the spotlight in the Free State leg of the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances are paid on time with no delays. Delays orbit tvet college online application 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 more info 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 year.
The Deputy Minister's oversight is expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the more info list.
– SAnews.gov.za