The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education has commended Orbit Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College, in Rustenburg for its outstanding contributions to education, recognising it as a beacon of excellence in the sector.
During its oversight visit to the North West on Friday, the committee was impressed by Orbit College's skills development programs, as evidenced during their class-by-class visits and tour of the college's infrastructure.
Committee members urged Orbit to maintain its high standards and continue the excellent work that the college is doing.
The committee also commended the college for the level of professionalism and its partnership with Intel Corporation and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to inspire students to explore opportunities in artificial intelligence.
This collaboration aims to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to develop innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions.
While the committee was impressed by the wok that is being done at the college, Chairperson of the committee Tebogo Letsie expressed concern with the number of staff that were in acting positions.
“We have committed ourselves in this term to have a meeting with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to discuss governance issues, including DHET's inability to fill vacant posts.
“Currently, we have deputy principals and senior managers in acting positions, which should have been permanently appointed by the colleges themselves, but this has not been done. Not filling these posts takes a toll on the already available human resources, stretching them to do more work,” Letsie said in a statement on Friday.
Additionally, Orbit College was encouraged to enhance its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems to streamline and improve the efficiency of student registration processes.
The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training has kick-started its three-day oversight visit to institutions of higher education at the North-West University (NWU) last week. The university is one of several institutions the committee is scheduled to visit in the province to assess readiness for the academic year.
The aim of the oversight visit is to ensure institutions are adequately prepared to handle the demands of the registration period and the overall needs of students, among other things. The committee stressed the importance of adequate staffing and efficient communication mechanisms during peak academic periods to alleviate long queues and ensure a seamless registration process.-SAnews.gov.za
