Indian maths teachers to teach American kids real time

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: Online tutoring has made it possible for a learner in the US to log on to a tutoring site in India and get connected to an Indian mathematics tutor. Both can discuss the problems that the student is facing by chatting or “writing” over a WhiteBoard. The student also has the option of faxing or mailing their difficulties in advance, or seek an appointment with the tutor.

This has become easier with the development of Stylus Pen—a hardware device that acts like a mouse, but is shaped like a pen.

The key benefit of online tutoring is that the learners do not have to call in an expensive maths tutor home from 30 miles away, and can take an appointment at a convenient time.

The main driver for the private tutoring market in the US is the school population that is underachieving in annual assessment tests.

The other major driver for the tutoring industry is the fund which is made available by the US Federal government for supplemental services to improve student performance in the lowest performing schools. Schools are themselves barred from providing these services which instead must be provided by third party commercial companies.

The US market has a ‘K12’ (Kindergarten to Class 12) content spend of over $10.2 billion, an assessment market of $ 2 billion and an online tutoring market of over $4 billion .

Overall, the size of the e-tutoring market is very big. By 2005, an estimated 77 million students under 18 will have access to the internet. Thus, internet-based tutoring services are expected to drive the overall tutoring market by reaching out to learners who need help in improving their academic scores.

The estimated $2.7 billion now available for supplemental services has created an excellent opportunity for Indian companies who have the requisite expertise in providing education solutions to schools, teachers and students.

While there are already a few US players in the e-tutoring market, Indian companies with their price advantage and huge pool of highly qualified teachers are on a strong wicket. They can offer quality service at a price of $15-20 per hour. They can also create specialised products with respect to content, lesson plans and tutoring and ensure complete mentoring of students.