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 as being a worthwhile and viable different for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was speaking all through an oversight visit for the post-school education and schooling (PSET) institutions inside the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development from the place.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, plus the Cape Peninsula {University of Technologies (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits geared toward evaluating the condition of readiness of increased education institutions across the nation, in advance with the 2025 educational year.
In the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to acquire satisfaction in obtaining artisan expertise as they offer great entrepreneurship possibilities.
"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, college students at CPUT expressed worries about student residences and various services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate 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.
Through the visits, the Deputy Minister has been accompanied by critical senior officials 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, read more assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The problem of funding and administrative issues confronted from the NSFAS was from the spotlight throughout the Free State leg with 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. read more 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 read more Nkabane at the special meeting of the Post Education and check here 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 here being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za