The University of Cape Town (UCT) is launching an “online high school”, offering a free online curriculum to anyone with an Internet connection.
UCT has partnered with Cape Town-based education technology company Valenture Institute to deliver the UCT Online High School.
“The UCT Online High School ecosystem has been designed to serve South African learners from a broad range of socioeconomic means,” the university said in a statement on Wednesday.
It will offer a Caps (national education department)-aligned curriculum for pupils in grades 8 to 12 at a cost of R2 095/month, which UCT said “makes it one of the most affordable private schools in the country”.
Admissions for the UCT Online High School open immediately, with classes commencing in January 2022, after which pupils will be able to enrol at any time, from wherever they happen to be.
“Learners will benefit from the UCT Online High School’s supported self-discipline model, which allows them to pace their own learning and get high quality one-on-one tutoring from expert teachers and support coaches whenever they need it,” it said.
Open
The online school will offer a range of university and career preparation services. The entire curriculum will be made available for free in an interactive online platform called the Open UCT Online High School. Users of the free content will be issued with a learner number to save their path and data, with unlimited logins permitted.
“The ecosystem includes a series of blended learning micro schools for learners who need the safety of a physical space, as well as access to reliable hardware and an Internet connection to complete their studies,” UCT said. “In future, we will provide a series of bridging courses, matric rewrite programmes, and alternative university credit programmes to provide South Africans with alternative and affordable pathways to achieve tertiary awards.” — (c) 2021 NewsCentral Media