5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to take into account the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as being a precious and viable alternate for advancing their occupations.

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

Gondwe described the TVET colleges as crucial for job creation and youth skills development in the country.

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

Gondwe's visits directed at assessing the state of readiness of higher education institutions across the nation, in advance with the 2025 academic year.

Over the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to consider pleasure in buying artisan capabilities as they offer excellent 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 concerns about student residences along with other services. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the identified concerns.

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.

In the course of the visits, the Deputy Minister has become accompanied by important 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 here delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.

The issue of funding and administrative click here challenges confronted through the NSFAS was within the spotlight in the Free State leg with 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 here 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 website year.

The Deputy thekwini tvet college 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