The Telkom Foundation launched the High School Support Programme (HSSP) in July 2017 pledging over R200 million over a five-year period to contribute towards improving the quality of teaching and learning with a specific focus on Mathematics, Science and English in disadvantaged communities. The project aligns well with the overall goal of the South African Department of Basic Education’s Action Plan to 2024: Towards
the realisation of Schooling 2030 ‘to improve the quality of learning outcomes and improve educational inequalities.’ The HSSP has been rolled out to seven schools, two in the Eastern Cape and five in Gauteng Provinces.

As part of the HSSP, the Telkom Foundation included a supplementary programme to support learners from grade 8 through to matric to improve the quality of their pass rate. According to SchoolNet South Africa (SNSA), the programme also included a psychosocial element, which aimed to sustain the learners’ performance by supporting and understanding the effect their home environment can have on their academic performance and life skills.

SNSA has been responsible for all teacher professional development activities as well as the capacity building and management of an intern programme that saw technical support interns, now named Digital Support Specialists being allocated to each school. Open Education Consulting was contracted to determine the efficacy of Digital Support Specialists in Telkom HSSP Schools.

Read more about The Efficacy of Digital Support Specialists in Telkom High School Support Programme (HSSP)Schools, Prepared by Open Education Consulting (July 2022)