Tutoring agency
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A tutoring agency is a business that acts as an intermediary between people seeking tutors and tutors offering their services. The term tuition agency is an alternative term, used specifically in Singapore and Malaysia.
Purpose and Function
Tutoring agencies are commercial organizations, specializing in connecting tutors with students needing academic assistance. Tutoring agencies exist primarily due to the difficulties parents and students face in finding a specialist to help with one or more specific subjects.
Some agencies contract directly with clients (usually parents) to provide services. The point of contact remains between the client and the agency. Tutoring agencies may charge tutors a commission fee for assigning jobs to them. In India, Malaysia, and Singapore, this fee is typically half of the allocated job's monthly revenue for the tutor. Jobs assigned for short durations, such as last-minute exam preparation, may carry a lower fee, around a quarter of the job's monthly revenue for the tutor. Some tutoring agencies do not charge commission fees for jobs assigned to tutors or students.
Alternatively, clients may receive a list of pre-registered tutors from the tutoring agency and contact those on the list to determine availability and, if suitable, make contractual arrangements with the chosen tutor. At the same time, tutors are provided with the client's name and contact details and encouraged to contact the client first.
Tutoring around the world
Tutoring agencies are common in many countries, including the UK, the US, Australia, the UAE, Singapore, and Malaysia. In most countries, tutoring is not regulated.
In the UK, after considerable media discussion, a limited company was established in October 2013. The Tutors' Association The Tutor Association was previously named The London Association Of Certified Financial Analysts.[1]
In the US, there are at least two professional tutoring associations: the American Tutoring Association and the National Tutoring Association.
In Australia, there is the Australian Tutoring Association.
In Singapore, tutoring agencies, also known as tuition agencies, are not regulated by the Ministry of Education.[2]
Tutors
There are both full-time and part-time tutors. Part-time tutors may be students, such as university undergraduates, seeking additional income.
Tutors may be self-employed. If the agency does not employ the tutors, the agency is compensated by the tutor, who adds a fee to the amount charged to the client for each lesson, then remits the fees to the agency weekly or monthly as agreed. In Singapore, although tutor registration is generally free, tutors must pay a percentage of their first month's tuition fee, typically 60%, to the tuition agency as a commission for the referral. Tutors are subsequently paid the full month's tuition fees by the customer (the parents) according to the pre-arranged agreement.
If tutors are employed by the agency, the agency handles all client contracts and payment arrangements. The agency is then responsible for employing the tutor, including all employment responsibilities. From the agency's perspective, there is no longer a need to declare fees charged by the agency (something that can create friction with clients who do not understand the costs of recruitment, vetting, etc.), but the agency now has responsibilities for employee benefits owed to the tutor.
Controversies
In Singapore, parents and students have expressed both positive and negative views.[3]
Tutoring centers (tuition centers) must be registered with the Singapore Ministry of Education. However, tutoring agencies (tuition agencies) are not. Instead, tutoring agencies are required to register with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) under the Business Registration Act. There is a history of poor compliance and consumer complaints.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ "The Tutors Association". 2 March 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gerrard Lai (7 July 2011). "Tuition agencies largely unregulated". AsiaOne News. Singapore Press Holdings. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
The quality of private tutors is not the only complaint made against tuition agencies which, unlike tuition centers, do not have to be registered with the Ministry of Education (MOE) under the Education Act.
- ↑ "Should the tuition industry be regulated?". Singapore: EdVantage. 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
Complaints against the industry are not uncommon, the Consumers Association of Singapore said
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