5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to evaluate the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to be a important and viable option for advancing their careers.
The Deputy Minister was speaking all through an oversight visit towards the post-school education and schooling (PSET) institutions inside the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as very important for job creation and youth skills development in the nation.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, along with the Cape Peninsula {University of Engineering (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward evaluating the condition of readiness of better education institutions across the nation, in advance with the 2025 academic year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to get satisfaction in getting artisan capabilities as they offer terrific entrepreneurship options.
"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 problems about college student more info residences together with other services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the capricorn tvet college determined 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 website TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the course of the visits, the Deputy Minister continues to be 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 with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The problem of funding and administrative difficulties confronted because of the NSFAS was inside the spotlight throughout 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 here 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 coastal tvet college the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za