Tuition agencies are bad for us. They are bad for the tuition ecosystem, they are bad for parents, they are bad for tutors. There are alternatives out there, and we should all be flocking to those alternatives rather than ensuring the continuing success of these tuition agencies.
(Tuition agencies are entities that offer matchmaking services for tutors, for a fee.)
Why tuition agencies are bad for parents
Parents can’t interview the tutors beforehand, can’t ask about their teaching methods, and can’t get a feel for whether the tutor would be a good match for their children. Tuition agencies are just interested in getting a match between the tutor and customer so that they can collect their fees. These agencies may boast that they have the best tutors in the world, but the best tutors in this island tend not to use tuition agencies anyway.
Dear parents, tuition agencies rarely interview us tutors. They just want to see if tutors are willing to teach, and they try to matchmake us. When I was just starting out as a tutor in 2003, I had a grand total of ONE tuition agency who grilled me about my qualifications and teaching methods. Wouldn’t you like to interview a tutor before you hire one?
Why tuition agencies are bad for tutors
Tuition agencies make tutors lazy. If, year to year, you are relying on agencies to ensure that you have students, you may want to examine how you’re going about doing things. If you’re a tutor and you’re reading this, listen to me. Do something else to ensure a steady stream of students.
You may want to have relief teaching stints every now and then so that you have access to a large pool of students who are already familiar with your teaching style. You may want to reach out to other tutors (who teach other subjects, of course) to recommend your services. You may want to set up a website, like me, aha! But please, stop relying on tuition agencies. Even if you ignore the lost income, you’re probably going to depress your own income in the long run, because of how agencies distort the market.
Tuition agencies do not encourage ‘high value’ tutors
Tuition agencies tend present tutors as equal substitutes for each other, which often means that the lowest priced tutor wins. This would be a good thing if tutors were truly equal. However, think about tutors in terms of value. Tutors should be offering, and parents should be demanding, the best value for their money. Often, the best teachers are not the ones who charge the lowest fees. The tutors who offer the most value are, in my estimation, those who offer group tuition classes at reasonable prices (like me, la!). Tuition agencies don’t promote value — they promote tutors who are cheap. They do this not because they are evil, but because they are responding to their customers (parents) who pressure them to lower prices.
Oh joy, there are alternatives!
Many tutors have their own websites. Look for them, contact them, and very often you’ll end up with a better tutor than what a tuition agency can supply. And yeah yeah, I’m about to promote the website that listed me as an expert tutor. The Domain of Experts. But hear me out, because what I’m about to present to you isn’t completely selfish.
Parents, this website allows you to contact tutors before you hire them. You can grill the potential tutor to your own satisfaction before you hire anyone. You can even grill a tutor for fun, but I won’t encourage that, ok? Tutors can get fierce too 😉
Tutors, if you want to get listed on the website, you have to make sure that you present yourself well. No longer can you be lazy and just go “oh, I have a degree, let’s do this!” You must be able to teach well, and you must be able to convince people of this.
I quote from their tutor submission guidelines (emphasis mine):
Note: High caliber part time tutors, as well as outstanding university graduates who previously studied in the local polytechnics or in junior colleges not mentioned above shall be considered on a case-by-case basis. Suitably qualified foreigners who have settled permanently in Singapore and till date sufficiently demonstrated expertise in professional tutoring will not be disregarded; however they shall be subjected to equally stringent screening.
If all the tutors in Singapore flocked to this website, many tuition agencies would go bust. True, it would mean that I’d be competing with many other tutors, but so be it. If it works for the country, it works for me. Ah, I’m hoping that happens.
Are you looking for an English tutor? For one-on-one lessons or group lessons, please send an email to kevinseahsg@gmail.com, or call/SMS/whatsapp 97700557 (Singapore only). I’m not always at my phone, so if I don’t pick up, please leave me an SMS to let me know you’re looking for a tutor.