5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to consider the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to be a worthwhile and practical substitute for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was talking for the duration of an oversight visit to the post-school education and schooling (PSET) institutions within the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development in the region.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and the Cape Peninsula {University of Technological know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed at examining the point out of readiness of higher education institutions across the country, ahead from the 2025 academic year.
Throughout the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to consider pride in acquiring artisan abilities as they offer wonderful entrepreneurship chances.
"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 worries here about get more info student residences and various services. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the identified 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 Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the course of the visits, the Deputy Minister has been accompanied by essential 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 problems confronted with the NSFAS was during the spotlight over 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 here delays. Delays cause serious challenges for learners; learners need allowances to eat and to buy hygiene products. This is important for their sense of get more info 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 more info 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