• UCT Online High School has announced a significant reduction in cost of its Amended Senior Certificate or Adult Matric.
• It originally cost R2 195 per month, but has been reduced to R800.
• The institution has announced the change in a bid to heed the call from government to make education more affordable locally.

While having a National Senior Certificate is not essential for entering the workplace, earning one is something that not all South Africans can claim to do. It is with this in mind that UCT Online High School has announced a massive reduction in monthly fees for its own Amended Senior Certificate (ASC) or Adult Matric as it may be more commonly known.

The change in price, the institution tells Hypertext in a release shared with the publication, is in response to some of the concerning statistics recently shared regarding education in the country.

More specifically the fact that only 37.6 percent of the South African population have completed matric. Added to this is a research report from Youth Capital that found at any one time, as many as 250 000 people are working towards an Adult Matric certificate outside of the full-time in-school system.

UCT Online High School’s 18-month ASC programme launched in August 2022 at a cost of R2 195, but has now been reduced to only R800 per month, working out to roughly R14 400 for the entire 18-month period.

While that is a substantial financial undertaking, it is far less than what UCT was charging previously, and certainly less than what other institutions may charge prospective learners wanting to obtain their Adult Matric certificates.

“To register for the Amended Senior Certificate (ASC), individuals must be 21 years or older at the time of sitting for the exam. To complete the Amended Senior Certificate (ASC), individuals need to register with the DBE and write a final exam for only six subjects. There are no internal SBAs, which means that the final exams count 100% for the final matric results,” notes UCT.

In terms of what is required after the 18 months to obtain the certificate, the following criteria have been outlined:

• At least 40 percent in three subjects including their Home Language subject,
• At least 30 percent in the remaining two subjects including their First Additional Language or Home Language subjects,
• A sub-minimum of 20 percent in the sixth subject.

“UCT Online High School is here to celebrate and support these learners, and the Adult Matric programme offers a viable and affordable alternative for adults to study online, and part-time, towards their CAPS-aligned Amended Senior Certificate (ASC),” the institution continued.

“A matric certificate can transform young and old people’s futures alike, by signalling their knowledge and skills to employers, creating pathways to further education, and ultimately improving their chances of finding work, keeping a job, and earning a higher salary,” it concluded.

To find out more about the Adult Matric from UCT Online High School, as well as apply before the upcoming deadline, head here.

Applications are still open until 6th April 2024, so be sure to act quickly.

[Image – Provided]