Expanding their commitment to supporting strong education that empowers the youth, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has launched the Volkswagen Online Maths initiative.

This 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), will offer online tutoring and support in mathematics to 1 000 learners in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Focusing its efforts on Grade 10, Grade 11 and 12 learners at seven local schools, 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.

“Tuta-Me by Optimi Workplace is a dynamic and accessible offering that assists high school learners 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 in order to achieve the results needed for postgraduate studies,” says Phemelo Segoe, Client Manager of Tuta-Me at 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.

“As a company, we have applied our core tech capabilities to the most critical area of need in our country,” said Ajit Gopalakrishnan, Jendamark’s head of Odin Education. “So the opportunity to work with likeminded corporate partners to extend our reach, and support the learning and teaching of STEM subjects, is an exciting one.”

“Empowering the youth through access to strong, consistent education is a critical priority for VWSA,” said Nonkqubela Maliza, Director for Corporate and Government Affairs at VWSA. “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.”