By Thapelo Molefe
Now that schools have opened, the government has turned its attention to Post-School Education and Training (PSET) institutions this week to establish their readiness for the 2025 academic year.
Oversight visits and committee engagements are underway. The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training is conducting week-long oversight visits to PSET institutions in the North West and Gauteng.
They form part of the committee’s mandate to assess the state of readiness for the academic year.
On Monday, committee members visited the North-West University’s Potchefstroom Campus and Tshwane South TVET College in Centurion.
At the North-West University, committee members were taken on a detailed tour of the campus, including the library, the medical school that is currently under construction, the Pharmacy Simulation and Skills Laboratory and the administration block.
Discussions touched on governance, administration, teaching and learning challenges.
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Buti Manamela joined committee members at the Tshwane South TVET College. The college, which can only accept 2000 students, received 48,000 applications this year
“The demand for TVET college education is very exciting… In the past we battled to get students really excited and interested in TVET colleges…,” Manamela said.
He said there were around 320,000 applications for universities and TVET colleges this year.
While TVET colleges were under pressure regarding applications, Manamela said this was not bad news.
“Why this excites us is because TVET colleges for this decade we believe are going to be the solution for our skills problems, for our unemployment problems, and I think data shows that the list of occupations in high demand… can only be provided by TVET colleges,” he said.
Manamela’s visit underscores the government’s commitment to strengthen PSET institutions as critical contributors to South Africa’s education and skills development agenda.
Engagements also included robust discussions with representatives from university council, management, student bodies, labour organisations and the Department of Higher Education and Training.
Topics ranged from governance and infrastructure to academic preparation for the upcoming year.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mimmy Gondwe, has appealed to students to be aware of bogus colleges.
The proliferation of fraudulent institutions, which often surface at the start of each academic year, remains a major concern.
The minister said there were around 100 dodgy colleges.
A team from the department will be on the ground in February to investigate unlawful colleges.
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