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 important and viable different for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking throughout an oversight visit to the post-school education and coaching (PSET) institutions inside the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as essential for job creation and youth skills development from the region.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, plus the Cape Peninsula {University of Engineering (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits geared toward assessing the state of readiness of bigger education institutions across the nation, forward of your 2025 academic year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to acquire satisfaction in attaining artisan skills as they offer wonderful entrepreneurship options.
"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 intelligence], and coding," Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, students at CPUT expressed problems about college student residences along with other amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the discovered get more info troubles.
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 essential senior officials here from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial Aid click here 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 difficulty of funding and administrative difficulties faced from the NSFAS was within the spotlight in the course of the Free State leg with the visits.
"NSFAS needs click here 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 more info other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za