iCollege , a private higher educational institution for underprivileged South African students who cannot afford to study, provides approximately 50,000 students with a fully paid education and has 17 campuses across seven provinces.
This means that following the closing of schools and universities because of the Coronavirus, many students would have been left behind due to not having access to data but thanks to the newly launched app created by iCollege enrolled students can continue accessing facilitation of their courses for free at the comfort of their homes.
“Rather than simply sending our students reading material, the app is personalized with pre-recorded lectures from our facilitators, so it’s like being in the classroom. Students are still required to complete compulsory tasks set out for them as it forms a vital part of their studies,” explained Lizel Booysen, Marketing and Sales Director.
The institution offers a variety of fully paid SETA-accredited courses and upskilling programmes such as Marketing, IT, Human Resources, Business Administration, etc. Booysen confirmed that The Job Skilling App covers all the courses that iCollege offers and will assist all learners to continue with their studies during the lockdown period.
“We understand the value that education has on the lives of our students and the role educated citizens bear on our country’s future. As an organisation, we decided collectively that no student should suffer or put their education on hold because of circumstances that are beyond the control of our nation,” said Booysen.
The user-friendly app was designed to be zero-rated for all Cell C users, in particular the ones that don’t have access to data during the lockdown. This means that after the app is downloaded and installed by Cell C users, no data is required to use it. Students were provided with a Cell C sim card during their induction sessions to enable them to use this app for free. Normal data charges will apply for students who do not want to change their service providers to Cell C.
“We’ve always been big on innovation. When we realised that lockdown would bring about potential challenges as to how we currently educate and teach our students, we worked around the clock to create a solution, “concludes Booysen.
