Independent education consultant, and founder of Tutors International, Adam Caller, spoke out this week about the need for more transparency from tutoring companies, and his concerns that families are continuing to be misled by dishonest firms.
As part of an ongoing effort to improve regulation in the private tutoring industry in the UK, Mr Caller called out firms for misleading clients by being less than transparent about the level of expertise being offered, how established a company is, and who the services will be delivered by. He also stressed the vital importance of due diligence by all parties.
Mr Caller, who founded Tutors International in 1999, commented: “Tutors International has always been vocal about the desperate need for regulation within the tutoring industry. In the past, we’ve repeatedly heard from clients who have found themselves in some truly distressing situations, where companies have been found to be cutting corners, doing inadequate research into the needs of individual client, improperly vetting tutors, and professional tutoring bodies are turning a blind eye. It saddens me to report that we are still receiving calls like this, because companies are over-selling their services and sometimes telling outright lies about their credentials in order to win clients. As always, it is the student who pays the ultimate price for this behaviour, and there need to be systems and regulations in place to prevent this from happening.”
Mr Caller, whose own career in education spans over a quarter of a century, across multiple continents, called upon tutoring firms to back up their claims before taking money from clients, and urged families to do their own extensive research before committing to a tutoring contract.
“There are companies and individuals out there boasting impressive credentials that do not hold up to simple scrutiny. I have encountered companies who boast decades of experience, but found no documentation of this whatsoever. Companies House displays accurate information about a business’s longevity, and at Tutors International, we are able to use testimony from our clients, tutors, and respected organisations such as The Good Schools Guide and our recent listing in the Spear’s 500 to back up any statements we make about the services we provide, while other organisations are not even visible in a Google search. In our own matching and recruitment process we demand complete transparency from all parties in order to find the best fit tutor for each client. If a tutoring company doesn’t offer up this kind of information, along with evidence to back it up, clients need to demand it. If they still cannot provide it, then alarm bells should be ringing.”
The Tutors International founder passionately re-affirmed his commitment to clients and tutors, and to its ongoing campaign for better regulation for private tutoring in the UK, and urged distressed families to contact the firm with any concerns or experiences.
To find out more about the services offered by Tutors International, visit tutors-international.com. For more information about Adam Caller, visit https://www.adamcaller.com/
