Brainline strives to be an innovative, quality-driven e-learning distance education institution. We continue to do what we love — enabling more and more learners to achieve their National Senior Certificate through innovative distance education solutions. This family-run business started with humble beginnings, but today, three decades later, it is one of the most prominent distance education providers in the country. Brainline offers a complete and comprehensive solution for children and parents alike. It is one of the focus areas of Brainline to ensure that they offer the best academic education to learners at an affordable and competitive price.
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The internet being connected by ‘telephone lines’ around 35 years ago gave him the idea of ‘Brainline’, connecting parents, teachers, tutors and all those interested in the academic education of the learner. Uncertainty over technology proved to be a constant obstacle.
Dr Johannes Cronje started the information technology journey for the learner in South Africa when they moved into the computer retail market. They soon discovered that there was no software for learners at school – either as additional support or as a complete replacement for traditional school.
Brainline’s success lies in supporting its learners. If we support them well, the burden of the academic aspects, which lies on parents, tutors and other support people, is relieved. For that reason, it will remain our focus in all aspects, using technology and qualified staff for academic, psychological and emotional support.
We're proud to launch an update to the Brainline website. This is just the start, keep an eye on our website to see more exciting updates.
Do you have a background in education?
Other than my own education (school and tertiary), I have no education background. My background starts at the time when my children’s father ”announced“ that we were to home educate our daughters. This opened the book on what would be required for us as parents, to be able to cope with these new demands.
Tell us about the growing pains of establishing this organisation?
The fear of technology is lodged deep in the psyche of parents ”of a certain age“. For that reason, all new technology (floppy discs, followed by stiffys, and then DVDs) immediately created the logistical challenge of hardware that has to be replaced at the ”drop of a hat“. However, this ”Fourth Industrial Revolution“, which started even then, has made hardware and software easier to afford. That has been a wonderful ”growth“ factor for the industry. The biggest challenge was the development of software with regard to knowledgeable people, suitable resources and access to the material. As one can see, this resulted in financial capacity which had to be managed very carefully.
You have grown with leaps and bounds over the years, how did you manage to stay abreast with educational trends?
That is the easy part – if one is sensitive to new technology and one has the foresight to appoint like-minded members of your staff, it is a natural way of life.