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 worthwhile and practical option for advancing their occupations.

The Deputy Minister was talking for the duration of an oversight visit to the post-school education and instruction (PSET) institutions from the Western Cape this 7 days.

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

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

Gondwe's visits aimed toward assessing the point out of readiness of bigger education institutions across the country, in advance of your 2025 academic year.

Throughout the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to consider pride in obtaining artisan abilities as they offer fantastic entrepreneurship possibilities.

"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 fears about college student residences together with other facilities. The here Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve 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 (CUT), at the Welkom campus.

Throughout the visits, the Deputy Minister has been accompanied by important senior officers from Higher Education and click here 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 from the NSFAS was while in the spotlight in the course of the Free State leg from 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 click here 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 click here 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 here list.
– SAnews.gov.za