Dot & Line revolutionises online tutoring whilst providing employment to Pakistani women
KARACHI/LONDON: An Ed-Tech startup, Dot & Line has revolutionised online tutoring whilst providing lucrative employment opportunities to Pakistani women across the world.
Dot & Line was founded by inspirational women entrepreneurs, Maheen Adamjee and Lina Ahmed who are graduates from the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Maheen Adamjee, who was an award-winning journalist prior to beginning her journey at Dot & Line told The Pakistan Daily that the need for premium online tutoring sprung from her own children when she realised that such a service was lacking in Pakistan.
The concept of Dot & Line focuses highly on learning outcomes, which is especially important to Maheen since she felt that many students did not have a strong foundation in learning which is why the tutoring industry in Pakistan was so big.
Capitalising on the demand for high-quality tutoring, Dot & Line supplied premium teaching at an affordable cost and has now expanded to over 3000 students and 400 teachers.
“Dot and Line enables highly educated women with a meaningful and flexible work opportunity. Our teachers make double of what school teachers make working half the hours,” Maheen said in an exclusive conversation with The Pakistan Daily.
However, it’s not that easy to become a tutor with Dot & Line, which only has a 10% acceptance rate so far.
On Average, teachers working around 4 hours a day at Dot & Line could expect to earn around 60,000 PKR per month while those who chose to invest more could expect a renumeration close to 150,000 PKR.
The prices of the Mathematics and English language classes are also affordable, with standard classes starting from 4000 PKR a month, with three classes a week.
The pandemic has also provided a unique opportunity for Dot & Line to grow since the people of Pakistan were more receptive to online learning.
Maheen mentioned that a lot of teachers working with Dot & Line were expatriates who lived in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK and various other countries.
Teaching Partner Aqsa Huzaifah said: “Finally I am so blessed to be a part of perfect community. I always wanted to do something of my own, preoccupied by kids and other responsibilities I choose dot & line and I will never regret about it.”
A review from a parent of a child expressed gratitude to Dot & Line for helping their child suceed. “I am so pleased with how my child has progressed thank you. Thank you for your help, my child is very happy. He always talks about the work he is doing, he is getting on really well. Very good teacher and really helpful, my son has learnt a lot of things. Kind, experienced and loving teacher. He has learnt a lot of fun.. Thank you so much…..”
More recently, Dot & Line has been focusing on the Pehchaan programme which offers ex-pat families a customised Urdu heritage program with trained tutors, experience an engaging class that binds your children to their homeland Pakistan, and seals their identity.
The four segments of the programme include:
“1. Hamray Log (Our people): Mini-biographies written specially for children about our leading personalities from Faiz Ahmed to Sadequain and Edhi Saab – learn about personalities who defied convention and became our nation’s pride.
2. Hamari Zabaan (Our language): Learn about the Haroof that make up our rich language, our mother tongue and develop conversational Urdu in just four months
3. Hamaray Soobay (Our provinces): This program allows your child to explore the heritage of each province including the materials used to build and mould; the intricate embroideries and prints that adorn our dresses; and the music and poetry that tell our stories.
4. Hamari Kahaaniyan: Ride a magic carpet over Karachi, climb to the highest mountain K2, get swallowed by a giant Mango (Anwar Ratol) or watch a Markhor spring to Life! Dot and Line whimsical children’s stories spark interest and imagination among young readers. “
Speaking exclusively to The Pakistan Daily, Lina Ahmed said: “Our world class learning materials and trained tutors ensure an improvement in learning outcomes and it’s exciting to see that impact across borders . While we started in Pakistan, Dot & Line now has a thriving global community of students that spans the Middle East, Canada, Australia, UK and beyond.”
