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 as being a precious and viable substitute for advancing their occupations.

The Deputy Minister was talking through an oversight visit to the post-school education and teaching (PSET) establishments in the Western Cape this week.

Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development within the region.

The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, plus the Cape Peninsula {University of Engineering (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.

Gondwe's visits targeted at evaluating the condition of readiness of better education institutions across the nation, in advance of your 2025 educational year.

In the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to choose pleasure in attaining artisan competencies as they supply 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, orbit tvet college students at CPUT expressed considerations about student residences as well as other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the identified 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 check here Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.

During the visits, the Deputy Minister has long been accompanied by key 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 problems faced via the esayidi tvet college NSFAS was while in the spotlight through the Free State leg of the visits.

"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances orbit tvet college 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 read more 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