Online tuition in the UAE is a crowded market with very little regulation of quality. Two providers can charge the same fee and deliver entirely different things. These nine questions expose the difference in about five minutes. Ask them of us as well. We have answered each one below.
1. How many children are in the class?
This is the question that determines whether tuition works. Below about eight children, a teacher can track every face and every gap. Above about fifteen, they cannot, regardless of how good they are. If a provider will not give you a hard number, that is the answer.
Our answer: six in Regular Online Tuitions, and never seven. One-to-one, or a group of three, in Specialised Subjects and Homework Assistance.
2. Is it live, and is the camera on?
“Interactive” is used to describe recorded video with a quiz attached. Ask directly: is a teacher present in real time, and can they see my child’s face? Both must be yes.
Our answer: live every session, cameras on both sides.
3. Can I sit in on a class, unannounced?
The most revealing question you can ask. A provider confident in its teaching has no reason to refuse. It is also a straightforward safeguarding matter.
Our answer: any class, any time, without notice.
4. Who is the teacher, and what are their qualifications?
Ask for the qualification, the subject, and the board experience. “Top 5% of tutors” is a marketing claim, not a credential.
Our answer: subject graduates with a teaching qualification and CBSE or ICSE classroom experience, selected through a subject test and an observed live teaching trial. How we choose our teachers.
5. Will my child keep the same teacher?
Rotating teachers is efficient for the provider and disruptive for the child. Continuity is what allows a teacher to know that your daughter always guesses on word problems rather than admitting she is stuck.
Our answer: one named teacher per subject for the full academic year, changed only if you ask.
6. What is the total monthly cost for everything we need?
Insist on the all-in figure for every subject, including materials, assessments and any board-preparation supplement. Hourly rates conceal the number that will actually leave your account.
Our answer: for Grades 3 to 10, AED 450 a month, excl. 5% VAT, for all five core subjects in a class of up to six, and AED 600 a month one-to-one or AED 500 in a group of three, excl. 5% VAT, for a specialised subject or homework assistance. Class 11 and 12 have their own prices: see Class 11 and 12 fees.
7. How will I know whether it is working?
Attendance is not progress. Ask what is measured, how often you see it, and what triggers a phone call to you.
Our answer: live assessment scores every class, weekly homework tracking, attendance alerts after two missed classes, chapter-level reporting and milestone parent-teacher meetings.
8. What is the child protection policy, and can I read it?
Every provider should have one published and available before you enrol. Look specifically for rules on private one-to-one contact between teacher and student outside class hours.
Our answer: published in full on this site. Private teacher-student contact outside class is prohibited.
9. What happens if we want to stop?
Annual contracts, joining fees and long notice periods tell you how much a provider relies on inertia. A short notice period is a statement of confidence.
Our answer: fourteen days’ notice, no joining fee, no annual contract, full refund of the first month’s fee if you tell us within 7 days of your child’s first paid class.
One more thing
Insist on a free demo class where your child sits in a genuine running batch rather than a one-to-one sales session. A staged demo tells you what a provider can do at its best, once. A real class tells you what they do every day.
We teach CBSE and ICSE online. Test these nine questions in a free demo class. Still deciding between a tutor at home and live online classes? See online or home tuition.
Questions parents ask
How do I choose an online tutor for my child?
Ask five things before you pay. How many children are in the class, as a hard number? Is every session live, with cameras on? Who is the teacher, and what are their subject qualification and board experience? What is the all-in monthly cost? Can your child join a free demo in a real, running class? If a provider will not answer any of these plainly, that is your answer.
Is online tuition better than offline tuition?
Neither is better for every child. Offline classes at a centre mean a journey and a fixed room. Online classes save the journey, but only work when they are live and small enough for the teacher to check each child’s work. Compare the class size, the teacher and how progress is reported, not the format. Our classes are live and online only, with up to six children.
Written by the academic team at Progmetics Education. Book a free demo class to see how we work.
Watch one class. Then decide.
Book a free demo. Your child sits in a real, live class with real classmates. No recording, no sales script.