By Daily Kasi News Reporter
Seven schools in Nelson Mandela Bay will benefit from an online pilot programme which offers tutoring and support in mathematics.
Volkswagen Group SA’s (VWSA) three-year pilot project developed in partnership with Tuta-Me (an online learning platform by Optimi Workplace) and Odin Education (an ed-tech solution developed by Jendamark), is set to benefit 1,000 pupils in the Bay.
The programme was launched last week, with some pupils given tablets, while others can access the programme with their smartphones.
The targeted group is grade 10, 11 and 12 pupils at seven schools and is aimed at increasing the number of pupils who achieve a university pass in maths at matric level, and expanding the impact of VWSA’s educational initiatives in the Eastern Cape.
The participating schools are Newell High in New Brighton and Nkululeko Public Secondary, Phaphani High, Solomon Mahlangu Senior Secondary, Tinarha Secondary and VM Kwinana Senior Secondary schools in KwaNobuhle, as well as Uitenhage High School.
Client manager of Tuta-Me at Optimi Workplace, Phemelo Segoe, said the programme was a dynamic and accessible offering that assisted high school pupils to reach their potential through dedicated online and face-to-face tutoring options.
“First established in 2015, corporates across the country have partnered with us to ensure that high school learners have access to quality tutoring to achieve the results needed for postgraduate studies,” Segoe said.
Of the 1,000 pupils to benefit from the programme, 200 will be given access to the platform through the Omang device, a secure e-learning tablet supplied by Odin Education, while the other 800 will use their own mobile devices to access the offering.
Jendamark’s head of Odin Education, Ajit Gopalakrishnan, said the company had applied t its core tech capabilities to the most critical area of need in SA.
“So the opportunity to work with like-minded corporate partners to extend our reach, and support the learning and teaching of STEM subjects, is an exciting one,” Gopalakrishnan said.
The director for corporate and government affairs at VWSA, Nonkqubela Maliza, said empowering the youth through access to strong, consistent education was a critical priority.
She said the pilot project was an ambitious expansion of the company’s investment in education and the communities in which VWSA operated and the communities where employees lived.
“We hope this project will go a long way towards helping the learners achieve good mathematics results which will give them the opportunity to pursue their studies at tertiary institutions,” Maliza said.
The project will provide supplementary online learning support including a weekly live online tutoring session by qualified maths teachers and a 24-hour Ask-a-Tutor service, as well as access to online resources such as lesson material, guides, quizzes and past exam papers.
The teachers and tutors involved in the project were also trained by Optimi Workplace.
Image: Supplied
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