Tuesday, 01 September 2009 00:43
Online tutoring has been gaining ground in India over the past few years. Students based in the USA, demanding Maths, Economics and Statistics tuitions, are the prime clientele for online tutoring sites, while students from Gulf countries, China etc take tuitions from Indian tutors in subject like basic English, beside other subjects.
“Large profit margin due to exchange rate difference (earned in dollar, spent in rupees) and the demand of online tuition in the USA makes the US our target market. Cheap yet intelligent labour in India provides the backbone to this industry alongside smart e-marketing strategies,” says Rahul Roy Chowdhury, one of the two minds behind Tutor2help (T2h).
The cost for a student taking online tuition in USA or other western countries is not higher compared with face to face tutoring say leaders. “It is in fact a beneficial deal to students who can gain access to quality teachers from anywhere they are,” says Chandan Agarwal, director, Learning Hour (Educomp Group).
Application
To become an online tutor one needs to apply in the career section or Apply as a Tutor section of these websites. Companies revert back with confirmatory call/emails explaining their way of working. There is accent training for those who want to go for Online Tutoring classes.
“It is a 24/7 work sphere, where one can learn a lot about education patterns and curriculum in other countries. We train our tutors in accents, format of work to be done, and issue related to plagiarism too,” says Megha Rastogi, director, Tutorskingdom.
Qualifications
Online tutoring in India brings to focus differences in study pattern in India and abroad according to some. “While it is recognized that Indians can solve a Maths sum much faster than a USA student (generally), an Indian student will not know how to apply the result generated, as in India, education is more about memorising than its application,” said Batla V Reddy, country manager for Classof1 (Global Scholar).
There is a preference for tutors who have completed at least their Masters programme, but those who are in their first or second year of MA also work in abundance, as, experts and qualified people are employed at better full time jobs.
Few companies permit tutors who have completed Bachelors programmes. It attracts people looking for home based jobs, or those who want to freelance without any fixed commitment of time and yet can earn handsome money. Finally, it is important that the concerned tutor is in touch with academics. For example, if one has completed their degree in 1995, and is not a lecturer anywhere, will not be recruited.
Industry overview
“There is huge potential for this B2C (business to customer) service in India as our internet penetration is very low here compared to USA (65%) where demand lies. But one must have capital to create a brand for itself in USA through marketing, as it is not easy to sell an intangible service to a parent or student sitting in another nation,” says K Ganesh, founder and CEO, TutorVista.
Money matters
As an online tutor for Online Classes one gets approximately Rs 100-125 per hour (+/- Rs 25 based on experience). One gets assignments gets Rs 75 approx for solving each calculative problem offline. But this is highly variable, depending on level of difficulty and time needed to do each sum.
“The task of completing homework assignments is satisfying in both creative and monetary terms as it keeps me attached to my academics and pays me well too,” says Malini Bhattacharya, a part-time assignment-help tutor with T2h.
Efficient resource utilisation and cost management are two aspects which companies pay attention to. “Once the site is set it up, retaining quality tutors after recruiting and training them, given a variable pay is challenging. Once a reputation of quality service is built, students pay you more in spite of competitive rates elsewhere in market,” opines Munmun Das, HR manager, T2h.
Source : www.educationtimes.com
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Connection, November 2011