Education and training

Bicycles make learning easier.

Rural pupils attending classes at Olefile Secondary School in Pitsedisulejang no longer face a long walk to and from school. The village, in the far north-western corner of the province, is part of the Moses Kotane Local Municipality. Medipost Holdings has donated R300 000 worth of mountain bikes for the use of pupils. Bikes4ERP, the NGO which distributed the bicycles, gives bicycles to students, teachers and school volunteers with the main aim to increase access to education.

The CSI initiative responds to the findings of a StatsSA survey that found that more than half of the 690 000 pupils in the province who walk to an educational institution are from rural areas.

In the 2022 academic year, an amount of R16.2-million was allocated by provincial government in terms of the renamed Victor Thebe Sifora Provincial Bursary Scheme. The scheme will disburse R21.4-million in the 2023 academic year.

The North West Parks Board has allocated an amount of R4-million to be spent on youth skills development.

At North-West University, a new qualification, Mechatronic Engineering, has been added to the courses offered by the Faculty of Engineering. The Bachelor of Mechatronic Engineering programme has been approved by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), enabling graduates to compete internationally.

The university and its researchers are leaders in many fields, including astrophysics, tourism, solar energy and extruder technology.

The University of South Africa (Unisa) has three branches in North West, at Rustenburg, Potchefstroom and Mmabatho.

Technical Vocational and Educational Training colleges teach skills that are relevant to the workplace. North West has three TVET colleges with several campuses each. Vuselela TVET College has its headquarters in Klerksdorp, where there is also an accredited trade test centre. There are a further four campuses: Jouberton Centre for Engineering Studies; Matlosana Campus; Potchefstroom Centre for ICT and Taung Campus.

Orbit TVET College has three sites, Rustenburg, Mankwe and Brits, with about 15 000 students overall. The Rustenburg campus of Orbit College hosts a Microsoft IT Academy while the Mankwe campus offers automotive training, the result of a partnership between the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related SETA

Online Resources

North West Department of Education: www.desd.nwpg.gov.za

North-West University: www.nwu.ac.za

NWU Business School: www.commerce.nwu.ac.za

Sector Insight

North-West University now offers Mechatronic Engineering.

(MerSETA), Lelethu Training and Ford South Africa. Orbit TVET College hosts an electronics academy courtesy of sponsor Samsung Electronics on the Mankwe campus, and in partnership with the MerSETA. Mankwe also offers Automotive Repair, Maintenance and Transport and Logistics and is a Centre of Specialisation in Diesel Trade.

The Taung Agricultural College is accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) to offer the NQF level 6 Diploma in Agriculture specialising in Irrigation Technology. ■