Tutor Doctor SA has made an immense impact in South Africa. It has changed the lives of students, parents and tutors. During 2024, the brand had 1 800 new student enrolments, 25 000 hours of tutoring and employed 1 800 new tutors. In the year ahead, they plan to expand their footprint to Qgeberha and Durban. The man who has made this possible is Clive Robinson, MD of Tutor Doctor SA.
Tutor Doctor is a tutoring service that provides private tutoring online or at home. It serves students of all ages, levels, and subjects. The brand was born in Canada and is still headquartered in Toronto. South Africa is just one of the fifteen countries covered in the Tutor Doctor footprints.
In 2017, Robinson brought the franchise to South Africa. Although the brand was successful internationally, it was still new to the SA market and required brand building from the ground up.
Building Education from the Ground Up
“I prefer proven business brands that are successful and have a long track record,” he shares about choosing an established brand to grow instead of a new one. “You are joining something that has been tried and tested, where many years of learning have been accumulated, so you don’t have to make the same mistakes. It is significantly more challenging to start something from scratch. By joining an existing brand, you also join an existing team that can support you in the business.”
Since its inception in 2017, SA branches have helped over six thousand students, tutored over 150 000 hours and employed over two and a half thousand tutors.
Robinson shares that one of the biggest challenges in bringing a franchise to South Africa is the regulatory framework. “Getting all the regulations in place to contract with an external international company is a lot of work, but partnering with an organisation like Tutor Doctor, which operates in many other countries, means you have someone who can help you navigate that process.
“Secondly, we have strong brands in South Africa that can compete effectively against international brands. Without a strong brand and marketing strategy from the franchisor, it could be tough. However, Tutor Doctor has invested significantly in building the brand locally for us. If you have a good franchisor or partner, they will ensure they assist you with this.”
Filling Education Gaps and Meeting Needs
Tutor Doctor offers a personalised tutoring model that bridges academic gaps in South African students’ education. “We have seen a shift from ‘drive-through’ or ‘revolving door’ tutoring, where parents and students take a couple of hours of tutoring in a panicked state to try to pass a test or exam. That does not address the cause of the symptoms in the student, and they find themselves back in that spiral again later.”
Robinson explains that each student is unique and distinct; their circumstances, environment, and curriculum are all different. “That requires a personalised academic plan for them to address the cause of the problem. A personal tutor, or academic coach as we prefer to call them, is the person who can facilitate the student’s unique programme with them.
The business juggles the evolving needs of South African learners and parents. “We are at the forefront of understanding the primary and secondary educational challenges by engaging with all our stakeholders and developing solutions for an ever-changing environment.” Their unique approach to academic coaching, rather than just tutoring, is made possible through the executive functioning skills programme, called X-Skills, and the cognitive assessments they offer to students. “This is what makes us truly unique. We are also locally owned, with every
franchise being operated by a local owner who is deeply connected to their community and its unique challenges.”
Enabling Local SMEs
Tutor Doctor provides temporary employment opportunities for thousands of young people who tutor while searching for full-time employment. This is a proven way to earn an income through a side hustle.
Currently, there are thirteen franchisees operating across South Africa in sixteen different areas. “We recognise the need to expand our footprint to other areas in the country, but we also understand that disposable income is under pressure.
“We are developing a lower entry-level agency model where people with the right set of skills can join with the necessary training as an educational consultant and then grow into a fully-fledged branch or franchise; it’s a kind of incubator opportunity. The Tutor Doctor franchising opportunity provides individuals with limited financial resources with a proven system to offer supplementary educational support to students and children in their community.”
This, in turn, Robinson explains, helps motivate young people. “We are aware of the challenges we face in the country regarding employment and job creation. [Tutoring] motivates young people to excel academically and gives them a vision for their future.”
