Online Tutoring in Nigeria: What Parents in the UK, USA, and Canada Need to Know Before Hiring a Tutor for Their Child
Hiring a tutor for your child — back home or right where you are — shouldn't feel like a gamble.
But for many Nigerian parents in the diaspora, it does.
You are managing a time difference, a curriculum you are not fully familiar with, and a child who may be struggling in silence. You find a tutor online, exchange a few messages, and hope for the best. Sometimes it works. Often, it does not — and three months later you are back at square one, having spent money and lost precious time.
This article is for parents who want to get it right the first time.
The Five Questions Every Diaspora Parent Should Ask Before Hiring an Online Tutor
1. Are they actually qualified — or just experienced?
There is a significant difference between a tutor who has been teaching for years and one who holds a recognised, government-issued teaching qualification.
In Nigeria, the relevant credential is the TRCN — Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria licence. This confirms the person is a registered professional, not simply someone who studied the subject and decided to teach.
If your child is in the UK or being prepared for British curriculum standards, look specifically for a tutor with QTS — Qualified Teacher Status, issued by the UK Department for Education. QTS is not easy to obtain. It requires demonstrating subject knowledge, classroom competence, and professional standards against a national framework. Very few Nigerian tutors operating online hold this credential.
A tutor with both TRCN and QTS is operating at a level of professional accountability that most tutors on general platforms simply cannot match.
2. Do they understand your child's specific curriculum?
This matters more than most parents realise. The Nigerian curriculum (NERDC/WAEC framework) and the British curriculum (Cambridge, Edexcel, AQA) are structured differently, assess differently, and prioritise different skills at different ages.
A tutor who only knows one system may inadvertently confuse your child — drilling WAEC-style past questions for a student sitting Cambridge IGCSEs, or teaching content that is irrelevant to your child's actual exam board.
Before hiring, ask specifically: "Are you familiar with my child's school curriculum and exam board?" The answer should be detailed and confident — not vague.
3. Where are they actually teaching from?
An online tutor based in Nigeria tutoring a child in the UK or Canada faces a real time zone challenge. Nigeria runs on WAT (West Africa Time), which is:
· 1 hour ahead of the UK (GMT) — manageable
· 5–6 hours ahead of Eastern Canada/USA — requires careful scheduling
· 9 hours behind Qatar — actually favourable
A professional tutor who works with diaspora families will have an established scheduling system that accounts for this. They will not ask you to fit around their local convenience. Sessions should happen at times that suit your child's school routine and your family's schedule.
4. How will you know your child is actually progressing?
Online tutoring without accountability is just expensive screen time.
Before committing to any tutor, ask how they track and report progress. At minimum, you should expect:
· A brief assessment of your child's current level before sessions begin
· Regular feedback after each session — not just "it went well"
· A clear indication of which topics have been covered and which gaps remain
· Honest communication when your child is not improving
If a tutor cannot tell you specifically what your child worked on this week and where the gaps are, that is a problem.
5. Is the platform safe and the environment professional?
For parents in the UK especially, online child safety is not a box-ticking exercise — it is a genuine concern. Your child should be tutored on a recognised video platform (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams), in a professional setting, with sessions that you can observe or review.
A credible tutor will have no objection to a parent sitting in for a session, particularly at the start of the relationship.
Why Parents in the UK, USA, and Canada Choose Emivant
At Emivant Educational and Technology Services, every concern listed above has a direct answer.
Qualifications: Our lead tutor holds both TRCN and QTS (UK Qualified Teacher Status) — and currently teaches Mathematics at King's College Lagos, one of Nigeria's most prestigious federal government colleges. This is not a side hustle. It is a professional practice backed by over a decade of classroom experience across federal, state, and private schools.
Curriculum range: We work with students on the Nigerian curriculum, Cambridge International, and British curriculum frameworks — for students aged 8 to 16, covering Mathematics at all levels from foundation to Further Maths.
Geography covered: We have been delivering online tutoring since 2020 to families in Nigeria, the UK, Canada, the USA, and Qatar. Time zones, scheduling, and remote delivery are things we handle daily — not occasionally.
Progress reporting: Every student begins with an informal diagnostic to establish their current level. Parents receive regular session summaries and are always welcome to ask questions or sit in.
Platform: All sessions run on Zoom or Google Meet — familiar, safe, and accessible from any device.
The Bottom Line for Diaspora Parents
Distance does not have to mean disconnection from your child's education. The right online tutor — properly qualified, curriculum-aware, and professionally accountable — can give your child the same quality of support they would receive sitting in a room with a top teacher.
But the keyword is right. Not cheapest. Not nearest. Not most available.
Qualified. Experienced. Accountable.
�� Visit www.emivant.com.ng to learn more, ask questions, or book your child's first session.
Segun Oladele is the founder of Emivant Educational and Technology Services Limited. He is a Mathematics teacher at King's College Lagos with over 10 years of teaching experience, holding both TRCN and QTS (UK Qualified Teacher Status) credentials. He has delivered online Mathematics tutoring to students across Nigeria, the UK, Canada, the USA, and Qatar since 2020.