Kids Outsource Homework to Indian Tutors

Big corporations aren’t the only ones going to India for cheap help; a growing number of parents are having their kids call overseas for help with their schoolwork. For just $99 a month, students can get unlimited help with English, math, or science from TutorVista, a network of Indian teachers, Reuters reports. That’s a fraction of the $40 an hour your average American home tutor charges.

Demand for the service is growing so quickly that TutorVista plans to hire another 1,500 teachers in the coming weeks, and it has plenty of Indian competitors. Cultural and language barriers are sometimes an issue, however; Indian teachers are used to more respect than American kids typically offer, and don’t know American slang. TutorVista’s next training course will teach tutors to use "awesome" when praising students, and illustrate math problems with donuts rather than mangoes. (More outsourcing stories.)