Young visionary empowers students with free, high-quality maths resources
The state of maths in South Africa is facing significant challenges, with less than 30% of matric students opting for maths, and only half of them passing their exams, as reported by Business Tech.
In response to this pressing issue, Lesedi Mochadibane, a 23-year-old entrepreneur with nearly five years of experience in the edtech space, has taken a bold step to address the problem that plagues students across the country.
“Many factors contribute to the state of maths in South Africa, and some of these issues are beyond the control of a young individual like myself,” he remarks. However, his commitment to effecting change led him to conduct intensive research to identify the core problems within the education system that he could influence.
Three key issues emerged:
- Students often find maths boring, or harbour a fear or dislike of it.
- Students struggle to grasp the fundamental principles being taught.
- Students do not spend enough time practising maths.
With this understanding, Mochadibane set out to develop a platform that would provide students with high-quality maths notes, completely free of charge. These notes are designed to break down complex principles into an easy-to-understand format, incorporating vibrant colours and diagrams to make learning an engaging and enjoyable process. Each example within the notes includes step-by-step explanations, allowing students to see how the principles are applied in real time.
Furthermore, this platform reduces the time students spend creating their own notes, allowing them to use the extra time saved to practise more, making learning accessible to everyone.
Mochadibane emphasises, “Most companies that offer notes charge students, or they provide a limited free version and expect students to pay for access to their full library of notes. I wanted to be the first to offer the best notes on the market, completely free of charge.”
His background in animations and art has lent a unique visual flair to his notes, making them akin to watching an animated movie. Each topic and every page is distinctively designed, departing from the conventional black-and-white writing with bullet points offered by other note providers.
Recognising South Africa’s linguistic diversity, Mochadibane has used simplified English to ensure students, regardless of their proficiency in the language, can easily comprehend the notes.
The platform is called FreeNotes – and within one month of launching, the site it had reached over 3 000 site views and 2 000 unique visitors. Ten percent of the users were not even from the African continent, with more than 200 of them coming from the United States and almost 50 from the United Kingdom, which indicates the platform is of a global standard of quality.
Mochadibane’s dedication to revolutionising the state of maths in South Africa is an inspiring example of a young individual’s capacity to drive change and empower students with the tools they need to succeed.
