"We're excited to partner with the Southern African Virtual School to offer Career Online High School to the citizens of South Africa," stated Dr Howard Liebman, CEO and Superintendent of Smart Horizons Career Online Education. "Our partnership with SAVS and the introduction of COHS in a market outside of the United States is possible due to the flexibility and adaptability of our unique online programme and its acceptance is a testament to the proven quality of our curriculum and academic support staff."
Powered by SHCOE, the world's first accredited, private online school district, and introduced by ed2go, part of Cengage Learning, a leading global education company, COHS enables students to earn an 18-credit high school diploma and a credentialed career certificate in one comprehensive online programme. Classes are supported by certified instructors and students have 24/7 access to the online learning platform. Coursework begins in one of eight high-growth, high-demand career fields - across a wide spectrum from child care and education to certified transportation - before progressing to the core academic subjects. Many students are able to graduate in as few as four to six months by transferring in previously earned high school credits.
"Our partnership with ed2go and SHCOE further reinforces our ongoing commitment to offer high quality, international education to students throughout Southern Africa," said Keith Maree, CEO of CampusNet and SAVS. "The situation for many young adults in South Africa, and throughout Africa, is that they have either dropped out of high school, have insufficient qualifications to advance academically or do not have the required 21st century skills required in today's global workplace. The Career Online High School programme, with its' strong emphasis on career skills and certification together with an accredited American high school diploma, offers them a unique opportunity to address their situation and advance themselves.
"We are proud to be partnering with ed2go and SHCOE and look forward to working with many local organisations in making this program a valuable component of skills development in the region," he added.
South Africa features a three-tiered educational system with 12 years of formal training. Students take a Senior Certificate Examination upon completion of their formal training to determine their eligibility for entrance into either an academic university or university of technology.
"The more than four million students in the Republic of South Africa who may have scored low on the Senior Certificate Examination now have an opportunity to continue their education by earning an accredited US high school diploma through COHS as they seek to matriculate into a university training program," said Ron Stefanski, Chief Business Development Officer at ed2go."At ed2go, we believe that education is the ultimate game changer across the globe. In partnership with Smart Horizons and The Southern Africa Virtual School, we aim to keep individuals engaged in education and support them in achieving their academic goals in preparation for longer term success in the workforce."
