Adult matric fees and free

I heard an advert on the radio for an adult matric (final year of high school) online programme being offered by the University of Cape Town (UCT). They announced the fees as R2,125 per month. It is an 18-month programme. I nearly had heart failure.

"UCT Online High School for Adult Matric is here to celebrate those adults who were unable, or never given the opportunity, to write their matric when they were young."

A Google search told me that a living wage in 2019 was R4,870 to R7,330, but that the real wage of a low-skilled worker was R3,330 to R4,680 and the real wage of a medium-skilled worker was R6,620 to R10,200. Presumably, low and medium-skilled workers would be target candidates for the Adult Matric course.

To do online courses, the student needs a laptop/computer access, internet and UPS (power supply) according to the course requirements (these can be a challenge for adults without matric). They need to put in 20hrs/week.

Adult Matric learners are classified as individuals who are 21 years or older. They must have a General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) or have passed Grade 9 (old Standard 7).

I was horrified at the cost for adult learners who missed the opportunity to complete school, for whatever reason, and who could be working low-pay jobs. Presumably, an adult student wants to complete matric to open up opportunities for better jobs and better pay.

Thankfully, I found a link at the top of the website to FREE CURRICULUM. They do offer access to all UCT Online High School learning material and unlimited downloads for offline use for those who cannot afford R2,125/month. This is made available by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

The main difference between the monthly fee and the free courses is that the free one doesn't have the facilitators and support coaches to make sure you're doing your work and understanding it, internal exams and community elements. The free course does have computer and self-graded assessments. I can't quite tell whether the free curriculum gives you a matric certificate at the end.

I've been looking at an online course through UCT. Fees are R17,000 for the four-month online course. This is where a jaw-dropping emoticon is relevant. I didn't expect an online course to be so pricey.

In high school, I did Additional Maths as an extra subject. The one thing I remember doing, and enjoying, was to create what I'll call 'feasibility graphs' because I can't remember what they were really named. In essence, it is a graph drawn to see at which point any number of options become feasible. For example, can you make more money selling many items at low profit or fewer items at high profit. The graph indicates where the profitability meets and shows at which numbers one is more profitable than the other. This is actually the only thing I remember from Add Maths.

With online courses, we have the opportunity for smaller margins but a satisfying profit through higher student numbers, low overheads, and repeated use of the same material following the initial investment to create the material.

I'd be interested to know UCT's student numbers for the R2,125/month course and those taking the free curriculum option. I wonder how many low-income adults, who would like to complete their schooling, were listening to that ad on the radio. On hearing of the R2,125/month fee, I wonder how many saw this as out-of-reach to them, not realising that a free programme is also available. 

The ad would have done better to promote their adult matric programme mentioning the free programme and one with full support, coaching and an online community so that all potential students realise that there is something available for them.