CPUT opens doors to TVET students
The Higher Certificate programme in the IT Department is working closely with Fundani CHED as part of the Unfurling Post School Education and Training (UPSET) programme in their effort to make university access available to TVET college students.
As part of this, the HCINCT UPSET student orientation workshop was recently held at the Bellville Campus. The aim is to provide orientation and information to students enrolled for the Higher Certificate in Information Communication Technology (HCINCT), receiving tuition from the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, and who intend to enter the job market or continue to university. Xolani Vanda, the Coordinator for the HCINCT, said the programme was started three years ago and is offered to students coming from the partner TVET colleges like Northlink College, College of Cape Town and False Bay College. “Initially, the idea was to provide information that would help students to be ready for assessments or examinations. This was also to address concerns and complaints received from the students and staff that they did not get all the information shared with Diploma in ICT students.”
The workshop was attended by 196 students and 41 staff members. This was an opportunity to share information with the students about the available student support services that all students can access, including those receiving their tuition at the TVET colleges. The Division of Student Affairs (DSA) and the Finance Department were among the presenters who unpacked the services and processes of their respective departments.
Lecturers from the university and the colleges took time to unpack the programme to the students. The workshop unpacked the HCINCT programme and how it relates to the Diploma in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) programme, giving students the relevant information that would enhance their chances of getting into the Diploma programme, should they wish to do so. The presenters also provided the students with the top 20 criteria as part of the memorandum agreement signed by the university with the TVET colleges, “which says the top 20 best performing students out of 60 students from each college campus will be considered on condition they apply for the Diploma in ICT at [CPUT]”.
Vanda said the workshop gave them an opportunity to unpack the programme expectations and what the students need to aim for to secure their spot in the ICT Diploma programme for the year 2026, “The presenters from Fundani, Finance Department, CPUT Libraries, DSA and the subject lecturers provided valuable information to the students which in a way served as a cheat code for the students to be successful for the year.”
Vanda added that the primary beneficiaries are the students in the HCINCT programme, as they have been given access to information they would normally be away from. “This allowed them to feel and know they are part of the CPUT community and have a right to access the university resources.”
