Tech in Africa
The University of Cape Town, (UCT) is venturing further into e-schooling with the unveiling of an online high school. This will be the first African University to offer its expertise to the secondary school market through online modalities.
The announcement was made in the morning through a webinar hosted by local tertiary institutions in collaboration with Valenture Institute – an edtech startup. The launch coincides with a new trend where top universities such as the US-based University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Stanford University have also launched online high school offshoots.
The online high school is offering a national curriculum and a curriculum aligned with an Assessment Policy Statement, enabling learners from grades 8 to 12 stationed in any part of the globe with a chance to study remotely at a USD $145 (R2095) monthly fee.
Mamokgethi Phakeng, UCT vice-chancellor professor pointed out that the UCT Online High School ecosystem is designed to serve South African learners cut across different socio-economic means. She further revealed that the school is being administered a separate legal entity from the University. The school’s online-based curriculum is also recognized by universities internationally.
Learners can access the school through an Open UCT Online High School portal where it is supported by Valenture Institute’s proprietary learning technology, analytics, and learner-support model.
