Cape Town -UCT has launched an online high school, becoming the first university on the continent to do so.
The university partnered with a Cape Town-based education technology company, Valenture Institute, to deliver the UCT Online High School.
"UCT is committed to playing our part in addressing the systemic challenges facing our education system. As a result, we have taken the bold step to launch an innovative online high school in January 2022, where the academic excellence of UCT can be extended to high school learners across the country," said vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng.
The UCT Online High School will create a new opportunity for learners across South Africa to choose an aspirational school and unleash their potential, she said.
The Online High School ecosystem had been designed to service South African learners from a broad range of socio-economic means. It offers a CAPS-aligned curriculum and enables learners in grades 8-12 in any corner of the globe the opportunity to study at a monthly fee of R2 095 per month.
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 a learner number to save their unique learning path and data, with unlimited logins permitted.
Valenture's chief executive Robert Paddock said: "We're delighted and humbled to partner with UCT on this ground-breaking initiative."
They added that learners would receive tutoring from teachers when they need it and have full access to a self-paced curriculum through interactive notes, videos, animations, simulations, practise assignments, quizzes and more.
Admissions for the UCT Online High School opened yesterday, with classes commencing in January 2022, after which learners will be able to enrol at any time, from wherever they are.
For more information, visit www.uctonlinehighschool.com. The school can be contacted via [email protected] or +271800 573 281.
Cape Times