A group of South African teens this week showcased their Vuka Learn app, designed to help school pupils access study materials more easily.
Grade 8 pupils Kamo Muanalo from Mondeor High School and Avela Maqungo from Thaba Jabula Secondary School and grade 10 pupils Palesa Thamae from Musi High School and Yuvaan Govender from Reddam House said their project was driven by the challenges they saw in their communities, where pupils often don't have access to resources beyond the classroom.
“Our idea was to make it simple for pupils to log in and find study guides, past papers and tutorials, even if they are in areas where resources are limited. We wanted it to be something that feels like it belongs to us as pupils,” Thamae said.
Vuka Learn consists of podcasts, quizzes, past papers, activities, games and textbooks.
The pupils said the app will have a built-in AI social worker to assist pupils when they need to talk to someone.
“The virtual social worker, Aunty Bee, will be helpful as it won't judge us or tell someone about the issues we have talked about,” Muanalo said.
The app tracks progress, adapts to learning levels and is designed to work on smartphones, even without Wi-Fi or data.
The group, which recently placed second in the Teens in AI Global Hackathon, presented their project at an event hosted by open-source software company Red Hat in Johannesburg this week.
Their next step is to obtain approval for a real-life rollout.
“For Vuka Learn to be activated, we need to approach government so they can approve it and upload the content. It's important for us to work with the department of education to make it real,” Maqungo said.
The team said they are researching the best way to approach the department but hope to have the app available by early next year.
TimesLIVE
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