CAPE TOWN - An online maths tuition service, started by a University of Cape Town medical student has now become a vital resource for high school pupils during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tutonic is the brainchild of student Ilyaas Amien, who saw the need to bridge the gap between access and quality education.
Due to the lockdown which saw all schools and education institutions close for over two months, there has been a growing concern for matrics and whether they would be able to cope because of the lost class time.
As a result of the Covid-pandemic, the tutoring initiative grew to help 500 pupils, from last year's 300, with 15 tutors.
The lessons cover all the maths content from grades 8 to 12, quizzes and previous questions and weekly live sessions with a tutor for matrics. Pupils can also ask specific questions via the site and get quick answers from tutors. They have also formed a group for maths teachers to connect and share resources.
“I wanted a platform to address the chronic lack of maths support for high school students,” shared Amien.
She said Tutonic has created over 1 000 maths videos (concept videTos and tutor responses), now curated in the Tutonic Bank.
She said the lockdown was now testing was challenging for both tutors and students.
“We’re all being tested in various ways, some more than others. As one who has readily engaged with online learning through Tutonic, my own academic transition was perhaps much smoother than it was for other students...
“In many cases, our tutors refer the student to a previous video that explains the concept or question they’re struggling with. This eases the burden on our volunteers and allows us to support many more students compared to conventional tuition systems," said Amien.
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