As countries around the world continue to struggle with the pandemic, UNESCO reports that more than 1.2 billion children are grappling with school closures across 186 countries. While teachers, children, and parents are coming to terms with the new normal of education, another industry is booming: the private tutoring industry.
According to a Zion market research group report, the global private tutoring market is expected to explode to 177,621 million by 2026, at a CAGR of around 7.1% between 2018 and 2026. These stats are from before the pandemic hit. Today it’s projected to hit a revised market size of USD 3 billion by 2027.
The pandemic has spotlighted the deep digital divide in many pockets of society worldwide. But it has also made one very clear: Where there is access to the right technology, online learning beats offline learning hands-down in student outcomes.
The World Economic Forum cites research that shows that students are powering through online learning. Students are known to retain about 25-60% more material when learning online set against only 8-10% in the classroom. It also slashes learning time by about 40-60% because students default to self-paced learning. These numbers make one very clear: education might have changed forever as we knew it in the classroom.
Not surprisingly, the EdTech sector is seeing a massive boost that includes language apps, video conferencing tools, collaboration tools and virtual tutoring. The virtual tutoring boost is interesting, prompting the question: What is it during the pandemic that draws attention to virtual private tutoring while all learning is online?
The top five reasons why the private tutoring market is exploding:
1. Private tutorship provides academic support
Private tutoring has entered the mainstream in many parts of the world, especially in Asian countries where education is not just for learning but also considered a social change vehicle. Where resources are available, parents are ready to spend their money on getting all the assistance their children need to reach the next rung of society. The students’ unmet needs brought on by the inadequacy of mainstream schools to adapt is a significant drivers of private tutor preference. The pandemic has done nothing to take the pressure off students to improve grades, and a private tutor seems almost necessary to help them compete in the tough global labor markets.
2. Private tutorship provides a personalized learning approach
Private tutoring provides one-on-one interaction between the tutor and student, often deemed a must while preparing for competitive examinations. The post-pandemic offerings by several vendors also include test preparation services, courseware libraries in various subjects, and exam-focused preparation for global competitive exams like the SAT, ACT, GRE, and other services. Matching the tutor with the student’s needs is far easier.
3. Private tutorship restricts distractions for students
While mainstream school projects require work on peripheral subjects and projects for overall grading, private tutoring offers a razor-sharp focus on only the subjects required to ace a particular exam or meet very specific targets per the students’ goals. Personalized study techniques are easier to implement without the need to cater to other students’ paces and learning styles. It also reduces intimidation from other students.
4. Private tutorship can quickly fill market gaps
State education policies often restrict mainstream education, making change a mammoth task to implement. Student needs, driven by global demands for 21st century skills, are far easier to meet with the help of a private tutor. For instance, the demand for English tutors in Filipino increased sharply because of the uptick in students from China and Japan wanting to learn English. The schools in China are still slow to offer opportunities to learn English for their students, but parents are quick to look beyond schools.
5. Private tutorship removes geographical barriers
The pandemic has accelerated the organization of several efficient networks of tutors across geographies, sometimes even across continents. Now that the need to commute or travel is stripped away, students from developing countries can avail themselves of superior tutoring by hiring tutors from other countries at affordable prices.
Our world has witnessed many inflection points with the onset of major world events. The COVID-19 pandemic has made adaptive learning a priority, and parents, students, and tutors are leaving no stone unturned to explore the full potential of the online learning revolution that is unfolding.
Additional Resources:
- Online Test Maker Tools: 9 Top Picks for Teachers
- Nurturing Creativity: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Creative Skills
- Thrive Global – Kidskintha – a digital media site for millennial parents
- Kidsintha – Creative Thinking: 5 Fun Ways To Quickly Boost Creativity In Children
- KQED – How Can Virtual Tutoring Help Students During Distance Learning?