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English opens up their world
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Housewives and college students who know English take up plum assignments as online scorers in BPOs
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Photo: S. Siva Saravanan
REACHING OUT To other Asians
It is a familiar classroom scene. The only unfamiliar thing is the setting. Computer screens turn blackboards and housewives take over as teachers to evaluate English essays written by non-English speaking students in Asia. All, at the click of the mouse. The encouraging comments given by the evaluators here motivate students in Japan, Korea and China to learn English.
New wave
Online education, the new wave in the BPO segment, is bringing cheer to those who want to earn a fast buck. All you need is a flair for English, creative skills, basic computer knowledge, the drive to go that extra mile and willingness to learn.
Says dietician Payal Seth, now a freelance online scorer: "The basic criteria is a liking for English. There is no pressure to finish targets and the flexible timing allows you to plan your working hours." After more than a year in the field, Payal now easily earns more than Rs. 500 a day, putting in about four hours of work. "In two hours, I am able to evaluate 60 essays," she adds.
For N. Vijayalakshmi, a biology teacher-turned-scorer, this is a learning experience. "Students use a lot of new words to express their ideas. What is important is connecting with the students; not just checking sentence formation, basic grammar and spelling."
Scorers at the online education programme at KG Information Systems Limited (KGISL) evaluate English essays written by non-English speaking students, professionals and corporate executives in Asian countries. The evaluation is based on grammar, vocabulary, thought flow, position (the writer's understanding of the topic) and reasoning. Says Shyam Sunder, Head (Operations), KGISL: "In countries such as Japan, education BPO is the need of the day. It is much more focussed and is a value-added job. Online correction of English essays is a new field and the job criteria is a good mix of language, productivity and technology."
For housewives, who are generally idle between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., such part-time jobs are proving to be a mentally refreshing experience. "They should just have the basics in English right — subject-verb agreement and usage of tense, to name a few, and there should be willingness to brush up their skills," he adds.
Apart from regular training in English, the induction programme on culture and festivities of Asian countries helps scorers empathise with the students better.
D. Thilagavathy, Manager (Operations) at one of the institutes that specialises in teaching confident English, says that housewives now enrol for English courses to improve their knowledge and take up part-time jobs as front-office executives, in Human Resources (HR) and in the BPO segment.
Says Kalpana Gopalakrishnan, senior manager, KGISL, "The concept of online tutoring has also taken off in a big way in the metros and smaller cities seem to be catching up. Education is a potential area. With working couples being the norm, there is always a demand for good teachers. Normally, when a student scores 60 out of 100 in a subject, he is not told why he lost 40 marks. But in online education, each student is given individual attention and the trend is set to grow. Other potential areas in education such as preparing question papers, evaluation of regular examination answer papers in English, Maths, Physics and Chemistry, creation of syllabus and study materials are still untapped."
Students' mindset
Understanding the mindset of students is also vital. "If your basic English is good and if you are a voracious reader, there is immense scope to grow. Housewives, students, retired teachers and people from different backgrounds are enrolling as freelancers. College students pick up fast because they still haven't lost touch with grammar and are good at computers," she adds. For N. Sarulatha, a bio-informatics graduate who is now a senior quality analyst, it is the love for teaching that drew her to online education. "The growth is performance-oriented and if you have the talent, there is no looking back," she adds.
K. JESHI
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