More than half of the 2018 cohort of students in the Atlantis-based IkamvaYouth Tutoring Programme have successfully obtained a Bachelor’s or Diploma pass, making them eligible for tertiary education.
IkamvaYouth has created opportunities for these students by improving their results, in turn increasing their admission rate into tertiary institutions across the country, by unlocking funding and bursaries for them.
The programme is a game changer, shaking up education by better preparing students for post-school employment and training opportunities, through subject-specific tutoring and academic support while at high school. They, in turn, have a greater advantage in securing work opportunities, especially within the Atlantis Greentech Special Economic Zone (SEZ) recently launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
IkamvaYouth started in July 2016 with funding from the City of Cape Town (implemented through GreenCape). To date, learners from Proteus Technical High School, Robinvale High School, and Atlantis Secondary School have been enrolled in it. Students receive tutoring three times a week, mentored by professionals on a part-time volunteer basis.
Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato is pleased with the results of the Atlantis IkamvaYouth class of 2018. He said: “It is clear that where we have students who are eager to excel links are made with appropriate support structures so there is no limit to what the students can achieve. I am very proud of the successes achieved by the matriculants and I know they are going to make a success of themselves.”
The Atlantis students have huge aspirations for their future, and credit their results to their own effort with the help of IkamvaYouth and its hands-on tutoring programme.
IkamvaYouth alumni Shanique Dempers and Jay-Lynn Fortuin successfully applied to pursue their studies at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).
“I had such a great journey with IkamvaYouth”, says Dempers. “I saw an improvement in my marks after joining Ikamva. My tutors helped to get me into a tertiary institution and apply for bursaries. I wish to return and give back to my community”.
Fortuin added: “I feel proud to be part of such a programme and am even more proud to have got good results, with a view to Bachelor of Education degree study at CPUT. Thanks, IkamvaYouth and GreenCape, for the awesome opportunity.”
Leeroy Maans, accepted by several universities, says of its role: “Not only did I improve academically but socially, emotionally and in my overall well-being. I plan to study towards a BA in Theology with funding, excited about starting the next chapter of my life”.
