The Hindu Business Line : TutorVista targets supplemental education market

Bangalore June 19 Online tutoring company TutorVista is tapping the Indian supplemental education market with a pilot project in the country. "We're now targeting students from standard 6th-10th in Math and English for ICSE and CBSE syllabi," Mr K. Ganesh, CEO, TutorVista Global Pvt Ltd, said.

Launched in December 2005 with a $12.75 million funding from Sequoia Capital, TutorVista currently has 2,200 students opting for supplemental education from 13 countries, mainly from the US and the UK and a few students from the UAE, Finland and Turkey.

TutorVista employs over 500 teachers who tutor n subjects such as Math, Science and English. The teachers are either post-graduates in their areas of specialisation or with a Bachelor of Education degree. Though TutorVista is a pure online education medium in other countries, in India, the company wants to experiment with a combination of brick and mortar and online learning centres. "We're in talks with several schools to start online learning centres after school hours," said Mr K. Ganesh.

Supplemental education would be a great leveller for students in smaller towns who do not have access to high quality tutoring. "Many parents feel that living in a small town would be a disadvantage for their children. This kind of online tutoring would help students prepare for competitive exams better."