Last modified on Wed 3 Mar 2021 10.33 EST The governmentâs decision to hire private tutoring companies to provide âcatch-up tutoringâ to disadvantaged pupils in England after lockdown will cost schools and the Department for Education up to four and a half times more than these companies will pay private tutors to teach the children. An investigation by the Observer reveals some private tutoring companies hired are charging between £72 and £84 per hour for tutors via the governmentâs flagship National Tutoring Programme (NTP) scheme. Yet the tutors themselves may be paid no more than £15 per hour for their work, which will involve tutoring small groups of pupils online or face-to-face to help them make up for lost learning over lockdown.