Grade 9 Learner Develops Educational Platform to Help Her Peers
Alexandra Lutz, a grade 9 learner at St John’s D.S.G. in Pietermaritzburg KwaZulu Natal (KZN), was among the thousands of South African learners who adjusted to a digital classroom during the pandemic in 2019. Her shift to online schooling was seamless, providing a positive experience for her and many of her peers. However, the pandemic soon highlighted the educational inequalities as many South African students struggled to access online learning material. With permission from her headmaster and using her tablet, Alexandra started sharing digital materials such as videos and worksheets with a few learners from the Imbeleko Foundation. The positive feedback she received inspired her to start Milani Education.
Milani Education is a free online learning platform that provides educational content from the current curriculum for learners in grades 8 – 12 across South Africa. The content is donated to the startup from reputable schools, at no cost.
After her first round of funding, Alexandra developed the Milani Education website, creating a reliable platform where all content is structured in an easy-to-use system. The platform currently serves 800 learners, 3 subjects and over 1000 videos that learners can use as a supplementary tool for their formal education. The subjects they offer is Mathematics, English Home Language and English First Additional Language (FAL), however they plan to launch content from all subjects in the near future.
“We are currently collecting and moderating content for Mathematical Literacy which we hope to launch on the platform soon”, says Alexandra.
With technology and access to internet being their greatest challenges at the moment, Milani Education has recently partnered with Pebbles organisation in Stellenbosch. This collaboration will enable Milani Education to reach a large pool of students who frequent the Pebbles afternoon centres. They also have exciting initiatives with the City Hill in KZN and plans for a potential learning centre of their own. The team also aims to translate the content to Afrikaans, isiZulu and isiXhosa, and to optimise the platform for data efficiency. Milani is open to any person wanting to revise topics from high school subjects and enhance their understanding.
“We want to bridge the educational divide in our country by providing a safe place for students to learn regardless of the geographic setting or social status. Our vision is to democratise education so that all students have access to a world-class education right in the palm of their hands”, notes Alexandra.
Currently pursuing her undergraduate studies in Data Science at Stellenbosch University, Alexandra is the CEO and founder of a 4-year-old startup with a bright and promising future. Reflecting on her startup journey, Alexandra shares “I have been turned down several times, from the first few weeks of Milani’s inception to very recently. These experiences, though disappointing at the time, have all made Milani Education better. I have learnt to never underestimate the impact that young people can make and that it’s better to try and fail than never try at all. Despite the disappointments, I have been surprised by the willingness of people to help, having met some truly inspiring people throughout my journey who have given so much of their time to offer me advise and help.”
