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 being a useful and feasible substitute for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was talking all through an oversight visit on the post-school education and coaching (PSET) establishments during the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as vital for job creation and youth skills development during 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 aimed at examining the state of readiness of larger education institutions across the nation, ahead in the 2025 academic year.
Throughout the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to just take pride in getting artisan abilities as they provide good entrepreneurship opportunities.
"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 lephalale tvet college intelligence], letaba tvet college and coding," Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, students at CPUT expressed concerns about student residences together with other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the recognized challenges.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to higher education institutions in esayidi tvet college the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the visits, the Deputy Minister has been accompanied by vital senior officials from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial tvet colleges open for applications 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 challenges faced through the NSFAS was in the spotlight through the Free State leg with the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its tvet college courses without matric 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 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