5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to look at the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as being a important and viable different for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking through an oversight visit to the post-school education and teaching (PSET) establishments within the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as important for job creation and youth skills development in the country.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, as well as Cape Peninsula {University of Know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward assessing the point out of readiness of increased education institutions across the country, forward with the 2025 educational year.
Over the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to acquire pleasure in attaining artisan competencies as they supply terrific entrepreneurship alternatives.
"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 problems about college student residences and also other services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the identified more info issues.
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 click here the Welkom campus.
During the visits, the Deputy Minister has long been accompanied by vital 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 tvet colleges open for applications delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The issue of funding and administrative challenges confronted letaba tvet college through the NSFAS was within the spotlight in 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. 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 website 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 list.
– SAnews.gov.za