As homeschooling and online schooling become more popular in South Africa, Parents are faced with a wide array of schooling options. Let us explore them and help you to make an informed decision when choosing the best educational choices for your child.
Teneo has become a popular choice among the parents I personally know, but what do they offer and who are they?
TENEO
What is Teneo?
Teneo is South Africa’s top online-only school, delivering the South African and the
British International curriculums through qualified teachers to students across the
country and Africa.
Why does Teneo exist?
Teneo is future-focused and equips students for the challenges of tomorrow in an
increasingly digital world.
Teneo is democratising quality education in South Africa by making it easily
accessible and affordable.
What need does Teneo fulfil?
Teneo provides the structure and class/teacher interactions of a physical school
through high-quality online school content and daily timetabled live lessons, from
the comfort of one’s own home – wherever that may be.
The future looks entirely digital and Teneo students are well equipped in
navigating this digital world and taking ownership of their responsibilities from
start to finish.
There is an increased interest in parents working from home where families are embracing the
work from anywhere approach, but their children’s schools have not (many are in
the hybrid model).
With Teneo, students have more free time outside of their live-class schedules
and are able to pursue other areas of interest or extra-mural activities.
With failing public transport infrastructure and high crime rates, safety when
traveling to and from school is of huge concern for students and parents in South
Africa and Teneo enables these students with an affordable alternative option.
Is Teneo accredited with the Department of Education?
Homeschooling is a legally recognised alternative to traditional schooling. For
Grades 1 to 9, parents are required to register their children as homeschooled with
their Provincial Department of Education.
Grades 10 – 12 are registered with SACAI, one of three examination boards
accredited with Umalusi. Teneo provide a portfolio of evidence to support the
student’s progress which is moderated by SACAI or the IEB. All students in these
grades are registered by Teneo School with one of these examination boards.
Matriculants will receive a National Senior Certificate issued by Umalusi – the
governing body – as with all public school matriculants.
Are all learning materials digitised?
Most of the textbooks are digitised however hard copy textbooks can be
purchased from academic booksellers and specific online suppliers such as
Takealot.
How do learners complete exams?
All exams are done online except for the Matric Final exams which are done in an official physical examination centre. Matric Final exam venues are assigned by
SACAI, the IEB, or Pearson Edexcel.
There are various solutions to completing practical exams, including video.
What does a Teneo student require?
Access to a stable internet connection/data.
Access to a laptop/desktop with at least:
– a processor of 2+ GHZ processor.
– 4+ Gigs of RAM.
– A working webcam and microphone are essential.
– A printer is recommended.
– A backup power source.
– An internet connection with 10 mbps+ download speed & 2 mbps upload speed.
– The latest version of Google Chrome is recommended.
Scanners or printers are recommended.
What is the role of the parent/responsible adult?
Strong parental involvement is extremely important to a child’s academic
success, parents encouraged to be active participants in their child’s education,
working in close partnership with teachers. In terms of the Department of Basic
Education’s requirement parents are responsible for the child’s education when
home schooling.
Parents can get access to an observer login and can observe all student activity,
SBA task due dates, and monitor progress including lesson attendance through
an app on their smartphone.
How does Teneo manage online bullying?
Teneo holds a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying, and perpetrators are dealt
with appropriately.
Teachers monitor the interaction between learners during online lessons. Learners
are encouraged to approach teachers to report bullying.
About the industry
Online schooling in South Africa has expanded significantly following the COVID-
19 pandemic, however many of the more recently established schools are still
navigating the administration and refining their systems and processes.
About Teneo:
Teneo is Africa’s No.1 School in the Cloud; a leading online-only school, providing the
same classroom experience and routine-building structure as a high-quality physical
school.
Empowering students across South Africa and the continent, Teneo students
experience live, daily classes with dedicated, SACE-registered teachers at an affordable
price, from any location. Currently educating over 8000 students with 480 qualified
teachers, Teneo offers the South African National (CAPS) curriculum, Independent
Examinations Board (IEB) curriculum and British International curriculum through Pearson Edexcel.
Founded in 2018 with the intention of making quality education
accessible to all, Teneo was strategically established prior to the pandemic, rather in
response to it. Just like physical schools, Teneo
enables students to foster meaningful relationships with teachers and peers and offers
numerous extra-curricular activities. A degree of parental engagement is required,
particularly for Foundation Phase students, but this lessens as students become more
independent.
Accreditation:
Teneo is registered with the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI),
the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) which are both overseen by Umalusi. In
addition, Teneo International School is accredited with Pearson Edexcel.
For more information about Teneo, visit www.teneoschool.co.za.
(Information supplied by Teneo Online School)
