How to Set up a JAMB/UTME Tutorial/Prep Classes Center in Nigeria

There is this prestige that many Nigerians have with being called graduates. Most young Nigerians who want to build a career only think of white collar jobs and you can’t secure one if you don’t have a university degree or a Higher National Diploma from a recognized polytechnic in Nigeria. The examination body responsible for preparing students to gain admission into Universities and Polytechnics in Nigeria is the Joint Admission and Matriculation board (JAMB) while the various Universities and Polytechnics conduct separate examinations to admit deserving students into various department through an aptitude test known as Universities/Polytechnics Matriculations Exam also known as Post UME.

Market Opportunity

There are at least 1.7 million Nigerians who would want to take the 2014 Jamb/UTME examination and majority of them lack sufficient experience or knowledge on how to prepare for these examinations. An experienced tutor/instructor who understands how the process works from time of registration till admissions and eventual matriculation stands to gain a lot especially in the big towns and cities all over Nigeria. In some cases intending JAMB takers (JAMBITES) pay as much as N5000 per month to prepare for 4 subjects, imagine if you had 40 students to teach per month, that would be N200,000 to say the least.

Challenges

But it a good idea always sounds good until it’s tested. There are many challenges you’ll face such as suitable location as many students tend to judge a prep center by its location which is not easy to find. If you’re using under a tree or behind someone’s house it makes you look like a quick buck. Also you’ll have to deal with examination touts and mercenaries as some of them might want to poach your students into patronizing them. It’s common these days to have people waiting for already answered questions sent to their phones in the exam halls thanks to touts who may give your business a bad name if you’re not careful.

Business Strategy

There are several strategies you can adopt to make money for yourself apart from charging fees. You can sell handouts, JAMB scratch cards and key points for your students to study at their own leisure time. Another strategy will be to have both morning and evening classes. Morning classes could start by 9 am and end by noon Mondays to Fridays and 10 am till noon on Saturdays while evening classes could run from 4 pm till 7 pm Mondays to Fridays and 4 pm till 6 pm on Saturdays or probably give Saturdays off for evening classes depending on your capacity. As stated earlier you’ll also need a good location like a shop space in a busy neighbourhood or very close to a university/polytechnic area or where there are many secondary schools. This is just a marketing strategy to put you close to the students.

Requirements

You’ll need to have one subject teacher who is really good at each subject. For instance someone can specialize in chemistry and physics, another teacher may take biology and geography, another might take Maths, while literature and English can go to another teacher. You pay your teachers per class taught like say N500 per class with each class lasting for 1 hour.

Start-Up Capital

Rent – N60,000

Stationery (Marker board, pens, textbooks etc) – N50,000

Furniture (10 benches and desks) – N80,000

Generator set – N20,000

Others – N20,000

Total – N230,000

Conclusion

The business is not for everyone as you need to have a passion for teaching and an eye to hire good teachers. There are many graduates of colleges of Education who are unemployed and many of them would be glad to teach for a small fee. Overall it’s your reputation that will sell your business for you so strive hard to make it work well for you.