5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to think about 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 instruction (PSET) establishments during the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as vital for job creation and youth skills development from 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 geared toward assessing the state of readiness of larger education institutions across the country, forward on the 2025 educational year.
In the course of the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to acquire delight in buying artisan techniques as they supply good entrepreneurship prospects.
"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 along with other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the here institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the recognized problems.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit umfolozi tvet college to higher education institutions in the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central website University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Throughout the visits, the Deputy Minister continues to be accompanied by key 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 problem of funding and administrative problems faced because of the NSFAS was thekwini tvet college while in the spotlight through 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 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 tvet colleges open for applications higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za