Maths lessons for UK students

Updated on: Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Here is an inspirational story! Indian maths graduates are being trained to give tuition to British children via the telephone and Internet. The Guardian reported that a tutoring agency has hired 100 maths grads in Punjab and coached them in the British school syllabus so that they can teach children of all ages.

These ‘tutors’ will be available 24x7 and be paid 7 pounds an hour, reported London-based BrightSpark Education — a far cry from the minimum wage in Punjab which is 2.52 pounds. It went on to say that parents could hire an Indian-based home tutor, rather than one who lived in Britain who charged 12 pounds per lesson.

Maths teachers are in such a huge demand in Britain that maths graduates are given 5,000 pounds when they enroll in postgraduate teacher’s training courses. The figures are astounding. Sample this: in 2009, some 5,980 students graduated in maths in Britain; the figure in India was 690,000 students!

Tom Hooper, MD, BrightSpark Education, said he turned to India as it was difficult to find maths graduates in Britain who wanted to be full time tutors. The quality of teaching he said was excellent.

Tutors use an interactive whiteboard to conduct lessons and communicate with pupils through a headset. Students can see their tutor’s face on screen. This may not be the best method of teaching but online education seems to be the way to go. And a way for you to make some money!

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