She is helping American undergrads analyse English poetry, critique literary essays and write book reviews. They find it hilarious that they are learning the language from a tutor half a world away, in India.

At 2.30 each morning six days a week, Vijaya Kumar logs into the digital whiteboard of the Bangalore-based outsourcing firm TutorVista to begin her lessons.

Remote tutoring of American students in math, English and science is a trend nearly as old as outsourcing itself. But the latest twist to that story is that tutors like Vijaya Kumar are working out of the comfort of their own homes and that practice is poised to scale. Kumar, for instance, does not have to dress up or commute to work. She just fires up the computer in the cozy confines of her residence in Lucknow’s Gautam Buddh Marg and she is ready to go.

That small mutation could potentially open up a world of employment opportunities to qualified Indians who are homebound by choice or by circumstance. It has become a career lifeline to those stuck in India’s small towns where job options are limited. Already, TutorVista’s tutors based in Faridkot (Punjab), Barmer (Rajasthan), Kohima (Nagaland), Kasargod (Kerala) and Anakapalli (Andhra Pradesh) are coaching American students from kindergarten to college. “Technology is making communication from small town-India to anywhere-United States seamless,” says Krishnan Ganesh, CEO and founder of TutorVista.

Ganesh says TutorVista is India’s largest remote employer. The company currently employs 1,500 tutors, and only half are in India’s eight largest cities. Other tutors are scattered across 120 locations — towns and even villages — across India. Many of them are not teachers by profession. Subject knowledge, a degree, a computer and a broadband internet connection are the only pre-requisites.

... contd.