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 feasible alternate for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was talking all through an oversight visit for the post-school education and training (PSET) institutions from the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as vital for job creation and youth skills development in the country.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, along with the Cape Peninsula {University of Know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed at examining the state of readiness of increased education institutions across the country, forward with the 2025 academic year.
Over the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to choose pride in obtaining artisan capabilities as they provide good 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 concerns about college student residences and other services. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student thekwini tvet college Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the identified problems.
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.
Over the visits, the Deputy Minister is accompanied by vital 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, assisting with elangeni tvet college all higher education related queries on each visit.
The issue of funding and administrative issues faced by the NSFAS was in the spotlight during the Free State leg in 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 check here to buy hygiene products. This is important for their sense of wellbeing and dignity," Gondwe said.
Gondwe embarked on the state of readiness check here 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 tvet college courses without matric oversight is expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za