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 to be a beneficial and practical choice for advancing their professions.

The Deputy Minister was speaking for the duration of an oversight visit to the post-school education and education (PSET) establishments during the Western Cape this 7 days.

Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as essential for job creation and youth skills development while in the state.

The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, along with the Cape Peninsula {University of Technology (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.

Gondwe's visits geared toward examining the state of readiness of higher education institutions across the country, forward of the 2025 educational year.

In the course of the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to take satisfaction in buying artisan capabilities as they supply good entrepreneurship prospects.

"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 concerns about college student residences and various read more services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student 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 get more info (CUT), at the Welkom campus.

Throughout the visits, the Deputy Minister has 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 delegation, assisting check here with all higher education related queries on each visit.

The difficulty of funding and administrative troubles confronted through tvet college courses the NSFAS was in the spotlight in the course of 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 read more 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