5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to think about the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to be a beneficial and feasible choice for advancing their professions.

The Deputy Minister was talking through an oversight visit towards the post-school education and schooling (PSET) institutions from the Western Cape this 7 days.

Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development inside the nation.

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

Gondwe's visits aimed at assessing the state of readiness of increased education institutions across the country, in advance with the 2025 educational year.

During the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to take delight in buying artisan expertise as they supply good entrepreneurship chances.

"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, college students at CPUT expressed concerns about student residences together with 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 capricorn tvet college recent visit to higher education institutions in the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University motheo tvet college of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.

In the visits, the Deputy Minister is accompanied by vital senior officials 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 difficulty of funding and administrative worries confronted through the NSFAS was during the spotlight through the Free State leg of the visits.

"NSFAS needs elangeni tvet college 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 read more products. This is important for their sense of click here 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