Offshore Outsourcing has grown to be an industry to reckon with. The profuse impact of Outsourcing to India has left it’s tell tale signs everywhere, be it culture, education, or economy. Outsourcing has leveled the playing field for India.
Banks, Insurance companies, IT conglomerates, pharmaceutical giants, textiles and an endless list of trades and industries have grown from strength to strength, drawing on the resources made available to them at a low cost, by the unmatched talent pool in India. Why must the field of education remain far behind? Today, the technological development and erosion of barriers to communication have made outsourcing of educational requirements, a boon for American students.
Fact is, the field of education, regarded as the heart of culture, has entered the turf of outsourcing, to receive tutoring for the future of America- the country’s young students. India has stepped up to the titanic responsibility. Armed with abundant intellectual capital, India holds the largest chunk in the growing online tutoring business. As the world’s online tutoring hub, Indian teachers provide online tutoring services to clients overseas.
Online tutoring in America, accounts for about 6% of the US$2.2 billion private tutoring market. It is an expensive service, with an hour of online tutoring costing anywhere between $40 and $60, making the service inaccessible to middle-class families. Outsourcing is fast changing the scene, with Indian teachers providing tutoring services at as less as $20 per hour. Consequently, as in other types of outsourcing, the driving factor in "homework outsourcing," as the practice is known, is the cost.
American students are becoming beneficiaries of outsourcing with the good-quality, personalized tutoring they obtain from Indian instructors who are postgraduates or hold doctoral degrees. Improved and inexpensive internet connectivity and broadband facilities in India, contributes to making the country an attractive resource or some US tutoring firms.
In 2005, statistics revealed that India earned about $15 million per year from online tutoring, an amount which was expected to grow to $2.4 billion by 2007. The online outsourcing industry is still in its infancy, and India is positioned to be the leader in the field. Hence, the dynamics are in place for India to grow as the outsourcing focal point for online tutoring, beating global competition.
