5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to take into account the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges for a worthwhile and viable alternative for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking for the duration of an oversight visit to your post-school education and education (PSET) establishments in the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development within the place.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and also the Cape Peninsula {University of Engineering (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits geared toward evaluating the point out of readiness of higher education institutions across the country, ahead of your 2025 educational year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to take satisfaction in buying 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 intelligence], and coding," Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, students at CPUT expressed worries about college student website residences and various facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the discovered issues.
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.
In the course of the visits, the Deputy Minister has actually been accompanied by key senior officers from Higher Education and Training, and tvet colleges open 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 difficulty of funding and administrative problems confronted via the NSFAS was from the spotlight over the Free State leg on 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," more info 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 get more info 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 get more info the list.
– SAnews.gov.za