Southern African Virtual School (SAVS) will be offering South Africans an online programme that will help them to get certified American high school diplomas. The programme will be available through Career Online High School (COHS), a program available through ed2go, part of Cengage Learning, and Smart Horizons Career Online Education.

This marks the first major international partnership for COHS, an online program established to provide value to students in all global regions, regardless of the structure of the educational system.

“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 program and its acceptance is a testament to the proven quality of our curriculum and academic support staff.”

This platform will enable students to earn an 18 credit high school diploma and credentialed career certificate in one comprehensive online programme.

Coursework begins in one of eight high-growth, high-demand career fields before progressing to the core academic subjects. Students will graduate from the 18^th programme which is scheduled to take four to six months by transferring in previously earned high school credits.

Keith Maree, CEO of CampusNet and the Southern African Virtual School said: “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 program, 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.”

South Africa features a three-tiered educational system with twelve 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 4 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 U.S. high school diploma through COHS as they seek to matriculate into a university training program,” said Ron Stefanski, Chief Business Development Officer at ed2go.

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