LEARNING CURVE: Online schools are growing faster than South Africa’s rules

As thousands of South African pupils prepare to sit their National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, more are pursuing the qualification outside the traditional classroom through online schools operating in a regulatory grey area.Saving Grace Education Group, which has operated in the online home-schooling and distance-education space since 2015, said regulatory uncertainty could leave families unsure how online providers are classified, registered and quality-assured.“Technology has developed faster than the regulatory framework governing online schooling,” said Charles Mukembe, the school’s head of educational technology and systems infrastructure.Umalusi sets interim rules for online matricUmalusi spokesperson Biki Lepota said there were currently no regulations governing the provision of online schooling. However, the NSC continued to be offered in online learning environments.To oversee this mode of delivery and safeguard the credibility, integrity and quality of the NSC, Umalusi had developed a set of non-negotiable requirements and shared them with assessment bodies.“This is because there are online providers that write examinations under the assessment bodies,” Lepota said. “These requirements will serve as an interim regulatory framework for online schools until such time as the relevant regulations are finalised and promulgated.”(Photo: Gallo Images / Jaco Marais) Under the interim requirements, candidates from online schools and distance-education providers must write their NSC examinations in person at registered centres in South Africa. Assessment bodies must set criteria for registering providers, report their decisions to Umalusi and ensure that providers offer the National Curriculum Statement in grades 10 to 12. Grade 12 candidates must also have passed grades 10 and 11.Assessment bodies are responsible for examination centres and the credibility of school-based assessment marks, which Umalusi may ask them to substantiate. Assessments must align with the National Curriculum Statement and relevant policies, with school-based assessment moderated at school, cluster and assessment-body level.No additional online schools may be registered until online education is formally regulated, except those submitted to Umalusi in 2025.How online schools say they protect assessment integrityIndustry directories list more than a dozen major online-school providers, but the Department of Basic Education does not publish a consolidated national register or enrolment total for online schools.One provider, Teneo Online School, said it was not operating in a regulatory vacuum because its pupils were registered through assessment bodies approved by Umalusi.“There is no regulatory gap per se,” said Tracey Clayton, the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (Sacai) FET phase leader at Teneo, pointing to concessions that allow the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) and Sacai to register online-school and distance-education pupils for the NSC.Clayton said the school is registered with both bodies, that its Grade 12s wrote their final exams in person at approved venues, and that pupils could receive an NSC issued by Umalusi if they met the qualification’s requirements.To safeguard the integrity and credibility of its assessments, Clayton explained that the school uses secure pupil accounts, set assessment windows, locked modules, time limits and access codes. Pupil identities were checked through account access, facial recognition and selfie verification, while assessments were invigilated using audio, video and screen monitoring. Handwritten scripts were submitted by photo, and assessments underwent pre-release checks.Mukembe said Saving Grace also applied formal assessment safeguards rather than treating online learning as an exemption from education standards. Formal assessments were invigilated from Grade 9, marked by teachers and supported by moderation and digital records of pupil progress, he said.Why families are choosing online schoolingDaily Maverick spoke to a family that had opted for online schooling after looking for an alternative to the traditional education system. The family, who asked to remain anonymous, said they wanted the quality and structure associated with a top private school at a fraction of the cost.toThey were also concerned about what they viewed as declining education standards in some schools and wanted greater flexibility to adapt to their child’s learning pace.“We are with Impaq, doing Grade 11 this year,” the parent said. “My daughter is loving it. The staff are so helpful, and there is a good structure with classes.”The parent said online schooling required pupils to take responsibility for their own work rather than depend on constant supervision.“Kids just need to be dedicated to checking what they need to do every week, as they are not spoon-fed,” they said. “What they put in, they get out. We are very happy.”Another family said their child was enrolled in the Cambridge curriculum through Evolve Online School, where pupils attended online classes and received guidance on the books required for each subject.“They are quite good and very supportive, and assist a lot with many things,” the parent said. “Hands down, the absolute best online school for the Cambridge curriculum that I have come across, from the level of instruction to the tutors, feedback and support staff. My only regret is not enrolling him sooner,” he said. In response to a parliamentary question in January 2026, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said the Department of Basic Education had obtained a legal opinion from the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser recommending that the South African Schools Act of 1996 be amended to make provision for online schools.“Work is under way to develop proposed amendments to the South African Schools Act, 1996, to include online schools, as well as interim measures to guide the sector in how best to address existing online schools,” the response said.Daily Maverick sent questions to the department about the proposed amendments, the interim measures and the number of online schools and pupils currently operating in South Africa. At the time of publication, the department had not responded. DM