Busisiwe Ngxeze (Newell High School), Ernest Gorgonzola (District Director, Eastern Cape Department of Education), Nonkqubela Maliza (Director of Corporate and Government Affairs, VWSA) and Carryn Thomas (Uitenhage High School). Picture: Supplied
Johannesburg - In an effort to entrench its commitment to supporting strong education that empowers the youth, Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) has introduced the Volkswagen Online Maths initiative.
The pilot project developed in collaboration with Tuta-Me (an online learning platform by Optimi Workplace) and Odin Education (an ed-tech solution developed by Jendamark), will offer online tutoring and support in mathematics to 1 000 learners in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The e-learning intervention focuses primarily on Grade 10, Grade 11, and Grade 12 learners.
The three-year pilot project is aimed at ultimately increasing the number of learners who achieve a university pass in Maths at matric level, and expanding the impact of VWSA’s educational initiatives in the Eastern Cape.
The seven participating schools are: Newell High School, Nkululeko Public Secondary School, Phaphani High School, Solomon Mahlangu Senior Secondary School, Tinarha Secondary School, Uitenhage High School and VM Kwinana Senior Secondary School.
The project will provide supplementary online learning support from Tuta-Me. This will include 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 are also trained by Optimi Workplace.
Of the 1 000 learners who will benefit from the programme, 200 learners 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.
Director for corporate and government affairs at VWSA, Nonkqubela Maliza stressed the importance of empowering the youth through strong and consistent education, calling it a critical priority.
She said: “This pilot project is an ambitious expansion of our investment in education and the communities in which we operate, the communities where our employees live. We hope this project will go a long way towards helping the learners to achieve good mathematics results which will give them the opportunity to pursue their studies at tertiary institutions.”