The quality of time invested in studying is often associated with high examination success. However, experts have also established the important role of good policies and teaching methodologies in this success. Ignatius Inyang, regional manager of Tutor Doctor Nigeria, a franchise of the global in-home tutorial provider recently spoke to FRANK ELEANYA about the unique method the organisation uses to reduce examination failure in Nigeria.
What gave birth to Tutor Doctor?
Founded in 2000 by John Hooi in North America, John realized that there was a huge demand for quality, focused and very personal one to one tuition carried out by only the best tutors within the students own home and family environment. He realized that the biggest way we could help struggling students was to make it easy on them. The team then started by visiting students at home, on the schedule they chose and set the price in such a way that not only wealthy parents were able to afford the teaching advantage that was offered. That has become our driving model till date.
Today, Tutor Doctor has over 500 offices in 17 countries. And each tutor recruited by the franchisee goes out into the field and gives a free consultation to evaluate the possible tutor/student relationship, to build a personalized map for the student’s success, and to help educated the parents on how Tutor Doctor works.
What characteristics of a doctor best typify the Tutor Doctor methods?
Our methodology focuses on an in-depth face to face consultation with the parents or guardians and the student to assess exactly what the challenges are, academic goals to be met and aspirations of the student. Taking the students personality, learning style, likes, dislikes and interests into consideration we take care to match the best possible tutor with the student.
Our in-home tutoring service evaluates every student closely to identify their needs and to track their progress. We understand that no two students are the same. Everyone learns with different styles and at their own pace. That is why we offer specialized tutoring to address all our clients’ needs.
Tutor Doctor treats each student like a unique individual. We know that every child, teenager, and adult has different learning styles. That is why our tutors sit down with you and your child to develop a program that fits their specific needs and learning abilities. Our process is unique, focusing on the student’s areas of weakness and approach to learning.
In your view, what are the major issues that has made examination failure rate stay so high in Nigeria?
As with many countries around the world investment by the federal government in the state education system is challenged by lack of available funds leading to high classroom student numbers and lack of learning resources. Limited resources dilute the effectiveness of formal education.
Do you offer tutorial on every subject?
Tutor Doctor should be seen as an education ‘concierge’ service. We are able to help all students of all ages with all subjects, as well as students with learning challenges. Tutor Doctor also helps students in all varieties of academic tests, including SAT, PSAT, WAEC, UTME and many others. During sessions, we provide exercises and drills that develop test-taking skill, quick recall, and mitigate worry.
Teacher quality is a major challenge and a contributor to failure rate. What criteria do you consider when recruiting teachers?
There are three criteria which are of paramount importance when recruiting a Tutor Doctor tutor – 1) Proven academic qualifications to show an intimate knowledge of the subject or subjects the tutor is going to engage in. 2) A clear passion in being able to make a difference to the academic success of a young person. 3) Excellent verbal and written communication skills in order to be able to build a solid relationship with the families they are working with.
Give us an example of your success stories?
There are thousands of success stories from those who have become high achievers to those who just needed help improving their grades so they could enter the next stage of their education journey and reach for their dreams. Tutor Doctor changes lives every day and these can be seen from our tens of thousands of positive testimonials we have received from parents across the world. Each year we honour our tutors through our Global Tutor of the Year Award. In 2017 nearly 500 tutors were nominated by families for their excellent work. Nominations were received from all corners of the globe.
Do parents immediately warm up to the idea of a personal teacher?
Our success story is a powerful one with parents, and also with schools, our tutors alongside our rigorous matching process help parents to see very quickly that our methodology makes a difference.
Do you have regulatory challenges and how have you dealt with them so far?
There are some regulations which have to be complied with but nothing out of the ordinary or challenging.
You mentioned in an interview that you rely on the existing curriculum. Do you consider that enough in today’s digitally competitive world?
The existing local curriculum which the student is studying is what we focus on because students are generally aiming to pass local exams with the best grades they can achieve. Of course, if we are asked to provide any other subject matter we are happy to do so and sometimes if the student has expressed his/her aspirations we will suggest enhanced learning opportunities
Which level of education should be the primary focus of educational policies?
Primary education should be the focus of educational policies as it forms the bedrock of academic knowledge.
How do you deploy technology in teaching your students?
Tutor Doctor supports the use of technology to deliver the very best tutorial in the appropriate circumstances. For example if the best match tutor is a large distance away from the student we would recommend to the parents that we provide the tuition using an online learning platform where student and tutor can interact together.
Where do you see Tutor Doctor in the next ten years?
Tutor Doctor will continue to grow in our existing markets as well as in new countries across the globe as the demand for supplementary education continues to rise and global employment opportunities become more competitive. We expect to have over 1000 offices globally
