5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to think about the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges like a worthwhile and viable choice for advancing their occupations.

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

Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as essential for job creation and youth skills development from the place.

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

Gondwe's visits geared toward evaluating the condition of readiness of bigger education institutions across the country, ahead of the 2025 academic year.

In the course of the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to just take delight in getting artisan abilities as they provide fantastic 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 issues about student residences along with other services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of the discovered difficulties.

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 thekwini tvet college University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.

In the visits, the Deputy Minister has long been accompanied by vital click here 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 while in the click here 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 read more 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 read more 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