INDIAN TEACHERS, AMERICAN STUDENTS: ONLINE TUTORING COULD BECOME A $17 BILLION BUSINESS FOR INDIA BY 2010, SAYS C.I.I.

BIZ INDIA Editor's Note: This is a story from three years ago: it sums up the major benefits for U.S. students requiring tutoring for them to excel in school and be prepared for college.

* Online tutoring companies in India, which have Indian teachers giving math and science lessons to American students, earned $10 million last year.
* The demand has been triggered by a US Educational Act where state funding for schools hinges on their improving their students’ grades.
* Special software and a whiteboard (digital notebook) enable students in the US and their teachers in India to conduct lessons through audio and visual contact.
* There’s a fast-growing demand for such services, with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) estimating 46 per cent annual growth and projecting that India will become a KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) hub worth $17 billion by 2010.
* Indian online tutoring companies charge $20-30 an hour as opposed to $60-100 charged by US companies. Indian tutors working online from their homes can earn $15-30 (Rs 645-1,200) per hour.
* Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi are the main centres for e-learning though cities like Ludhiana, Rishikesh, Jamshedpur and Rourkela also report booming business.
* NRI students in the US are now also signing up to acquire more esoteric skills from Indian tutors such as in Carnatic music or classical dance.
* Indian online tutors are required to take special training to adapt their accents and to understand American cultural practices, which frown on teachers scolding their students or being too formal with them.