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Exams are underway, and many learners are going online for additional support. With the prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, more South African schoolchildren will be leveraging these tools for learning than ever before. While these can be great for learner support, if used incorrectly, children could face far-reaching risks.
“While AI platforms have many benefits, parents and children need to be aware of the risks involved, and how to guide them when using these as resources. Beyond the cybersecurity dangers involved, children need to know how to access trusted information, grounded in the South African curriculum, that helps them develop their own understanding.”
Tim Holliday – founder of Maze Education and co-founder of South African education platform Cappi – five practical checks parents can make to help children study more safely and effectively online.
- Check what personal information is being shared
South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) includes specific provisions for processing children’s personal information. However, Holliday warns that the law’s existence doesn’t automatically mean every platform complies – or is necessarily suitable for children.
“Your children could feel comfortable sharing information with an AI chatbot without realising this isn’t a private conversation,” warns Holliday. “They should be taught never to enter their full name, home address, school, telephone number, passwords, family details, or personal photographs into a tool unless you have approved its use.”
He encourages parents to check age requirements, privacy policy, and data collection practices first, as these could be used for training AI models: “Your children should know they can ask for help if a platform requests unusual information or makes them uncomfortable.”
- Investigate who is behind the platform
Holliday notes that a professional-looking website or confident chatbot response isn’t proof that a resource is trustworthy.
“Before using an unfamiliar study platform, investigate who operates it and why,” he says. “Look for information about the organisation behind the service, its educational focus, its sources, credentials, and the safeguards in place. Be wary of platforms that make sweeping promises about guaranteed marks or academic success without providing credible evidence.”
With every platform, he suggests asking:
- Is the information current?
- Does it address the topic and level your child is studying?
- Who created it and what are their qualifications?
- Can its claims be supported by evidence or checked against reliable sources?
- Is the material intended to inform and educate, or primarily to sell, persuade or attract clicks?
- Teach children to question AI-generated answers
Holliday says children should be taught to question everything – and that extends to AI responses: “AI tools can produce information that sounds correct, but actually contains invented information or hallucinations. Children need to check the source and verify information. We don’t want them to distrust everything they read, but they need to develop skills to distinguish between information that sounds plausible and information that can’t be verified.”
He says parents can encourage children to ask simple questions, such as:
- Where did this answer come from?
- Can we check it?
- Does it make sense alongside what you learned at school?
- Make sure study materials match CAPS or IEB requirements
Holliday says there is a wealth of information online, but if it doesn’t align with the South African schools’ curriculum, it could impact a child’s performance.
“A resource can explain a subject well, but your child won’t be fully prepared if it follows a different curriculum, uses unfamiliar terminology, or covers content at the wrong level,” he explains. “In South Africa, we follow the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement [CAPS] or the Independent Examinations Board [IEB] pathway. Parents need to check that online resources are grounded in the correct curriculum and align with the learner’s grade and subject level.”
- Use technology that actually builds understanding
“Perhaps one of the biggest risks for learners using AI tools is they can complete work without developing the understanding they need to reproduce that knowledge on their own,” says Holliday. “AI tools that are solving every maths problem or summarising the text without the child engaging in the process are more harmful than helpful.”
He says a credible educational platform, such as Cappi, is designed to get children asking questions, working through examples, practising recall, and identifying weaknesses for revision: “Rather than asking AI to provide a finished answer, it should explain a difficult concept step by step, create a practice quiz, or help them understand why an answer is incorrect.”
Cappi is a trusted educational resource for South African schools and homes
Launched this year, Cappi is a reputable educational platform that offers curriculum-grounded support through dedicated Teacher, Learner and Parent portals. Spanning ECD to Grade 12, Cappi provides CAPS-based support with IEB Mode where applicable, and multilingual functionality covering all 11 official South African languages.
For exam preparation, the Learner Portal for Grades 8 and up provides explanations, revision tools, practice quizzes, and feedback. For younger learners, the Parent Portal gives families access to plain-language explanations, curriculum information, study tips, and revision quiz creation. Parents can take a more active role in learning at home, without having the subject knowledge.
“Responsible educational AI should strengthen the relationship between a learner and their learning, not remove the thinking from the process,” says Holliday. “With a reputable resource like Cappi, parents can be assured their children are getting the exam preparation they need, in a safe online environment.”
Cappi is available from R99 per month across Windows, macOS and Android devices. Parents can explore the platform and its features at www.cappi.co.za.
Cappi FAQs
- What is Cappi?
Cap.π (pronounced Cappi) is a CAPS-grounded AI education platform designed to support teachers, learners, and parents. It offers curriculum-based explanations, study support, revision quizzes and exam preparation tools, with IEB Mode where applicable. Its aim is to help learners build understanding and confidence while supporting parents and teachers in their roles.
- Is Cappi suitable for children?
Cappi offers dedicated portals for teachers, learners and parents, with the Learner Portal designed for Grade 8 upwards and the Parent Portal helping families support learning from earlier years. Its learning approach encourages learners to work through concepts and develop their reasoning, rather than simply copy answers.
- Does Cappi follow the South African curriculum?
Cappi is designed around official CAPS curriculum documentation, with IEB Mode available where applicable. It provides curriculum-grounded support intended to reflect South African learning requirements.
About Cappi
Cappi is a purpose-built South African education platform that brings structured intelligence to teaching and learning. Grounded in the CAPS curriculum, with IEB Mode where applicable, it provides dedicated support for teachers, learners and parents. Teachers gain a structured co-pilot for curriculum-based work, learners receive clear and patient academic guidance, and parents are better equipped to understand and support learning at home. Cappi is designed to complement the people at the heart of education by making curriculum knowledge more accessible, organised and relevant. Its guiding belief is simple: when education is structured properly, it does not just inform. It transforms. Visit www.cappi.co.za.
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