FAQ

Full-time tutors are tutors who tutor on a full-time basis. They could be (but are not limited to) diploma / A level holders, degree holders or ex-school teachers, who have no other full-time occupation and are not actively searching for one.

Full-time tutors are understood and expected to be very professional and able to commit to assignments on a long-term basis. Therefore, they usually command a higher rate than part-time tutors.

Penalties may be imposed on full-time tutors who discontinue their lessons prior to the year-end exams, except when this is due to unforeseen circumstances. Full-time tutors are normally requested by clients with the understanding and expectation that they will be professional and able to commit to the assignment on a long-term basis.

However, the agency is aware of part-time tutors who would declare themselves as full-time tutors, just to quote a higher rate. They may then discontinue the tuition mid-way before the year-end exams due to other commitments such as recently securing another full-time job. This would be unfair to the students as a sudden withdrawal prior to their exams may affect their performance and results. Clients may then request for a refund due to the disruption caused despite the understanding that the tutors would commit on a long-term basis.

Hence, the purpose of the penalty is mainly to:

• filter out tutors who are not able to commit as
  full-time tutors and retain only the professional and committed ones.
• cover the cost of the refund requested by clients.

We believe that full-time tutors who are professional and committed will not be affected by the penalty.

Part-time tutors (Student tutors, Undergraduates, NIE trainees, Graduates) are understood not to be able to promise a long-term commitment due to possible changes in their school timetable / work schedule or clashes with their own exams. As such, their rates are lower and do not match that of full-time tutors. Clients would normally request part-time tutors if they are on a lower budget.

Having said that, we would still hope that part-time tutors would commit to their students for as long as they can, in order not to negatively affect their studies.

(Please note that part-time tutors are still required to commit for a minimum period of one month.)

We will review such situations on a case-by-case basis. If valid reasons are provided with supporting documents, the penalty will not be imposed on the tutor.

We have allowed full-time tutors to terminate their assignments prior to the year-end exams, without penalty, due to unforeseen circumstances such as medical conditions and other similar cases. Supporting documents will have to be provided and the agency may forward them to the clients.

We will review such situations on a case-by-case basis. We try our best to be fair to both parties and will listen to both sides before taking any actions.

The clients too are bound by separate terms with the agency and may be liable for penalty should they take advantage of tutors. This is to be fair to the tutors.

Tutors who misconduct themselves may receive a warning, may be blacklisted, or even imposed a penalty depending on the severity of the actions and if there is found to be a loss of income on our end.

Please note that any act of misconduct recognised as a criminal offence under the law such as, but not limited to, stealing, will be referred to the relevant authorities.

This is for the purpose of background checking.

• The agency needs to verify that you are a legitimate tutor and that you are able to tutor the particular subject(s) which you have indicated in your profile.
• This is also for the safety of the students and to reassure parents that the students (who are mostly minors) are in good hands.

Tutors who have lost their certificates have to be able to provide some form of testimonials (need not be formal) and proven track record. This would allow us to verify that you are able to tutor the particular subject(s).

Please note that a Degree in Engineering, for example, may not be sufficient to verify that the tutor is able to conduct English lessons, even for primary school students. The tutor would be expected to provide testimonials from other clients showing good track record in tutoring English if he / she has lost all other certificates showing good grades in English.

For trial lessons, the client can decide whether to continue or discontinue after the trial lesson.

If they decide to continue, trial lesson will count as lesson 1 and 50% of first 4 weeks of lessons will apply as agency commisson as per normal.

This is to prevent tutors from underperforming and retain only the good and committed ones. We believe that tutors who have the right experience and can deliver their lessons well, will definitely be confirmed for subsequent lessons.

As we're dealing with a high volume of requests from clients as well as a high volume of responses (applications) from tutors, we regret to inform you that we are unable to respond to all messages. In most (if not all) cases, only shortlisted candidates will be notified. Please ensure that your application is complete with up-to-date and accurate information which includes all documents already submitted for our verification.

We try our best to match all the assignments on hand as soon as possible - especially the urgent ones which need to be started immediately. Hence, the assignments you are applying for may no longer be available. Please check the assignment page occasionally and reference the status of the assignments.

• Always keep your profile up-to-date and complete every section (or as many as you can). Certain sections require more elaborate details. Please do not leave them blank or input one line.
• Keep track of your students’ progress and include it in your profile.
• Have the relevant certificates properly submitted. You may upload any other documents which support your application.
• Be prompt with your responses when contacted by the Coordinator / Education Consultant.

Short assignments are assignments lasting for 8 weeks or less. As such, the commission that applies is only 25% of the first 4 weeks of lessons instead of 50%.

Example 3: Tutor receives a P6 Maths (PSLE) assignment 8 weeks before PSLE and has indicated that he / she teaches Secondary Maths as well.
This is not a short assignment.

Example 1: Client has already engaged a tutor for Sec 4 Science. Client now needs the same tutor to teach the same Sec 4 student English as well as Science, so Sec 4 English is a new assignment.

Example 2: Client has already engaged a tutor for Sec 4 Science. Client now needs the tutor to teach the student's Sec 2 brother Science, so Sec 2 Science is a new assignment.

Our Education Consultants are experienced coordinators who are also full-time graduate tutors and educators, some with even more than 10 years of experience and solid track records. Feel free to ask them for tips or advice.

We are sorry to hear that other agencies who have reached out to you do not request documentation for verification.

We believe that with the right chemistry, and with teaching methods matching the students’ style of learning, students will excel and achieve their maximum potential.

Dear tutors, please understand that as a tuition agency, our priority is to attend to our clients and find suitable tutors that best match their requirements. Though we may remember some good tutors and highly recommend them to clients, we do not actively search for assignments for tutors.