Dunedin's Big Picture Learning owner Rakesh Pandey said the demands on school teachers outside classrooms were continually increasing, and for many schools it was at the cost of educating pupils.
Many of the pupils he saw had low self-esteem and did not know how to organise themselves, study or use educational resources properly.
"Teachers with 20-30 kids in the classroom don't get time to teach these things. The job of a teacher is a very hard job when you've got 30 little brains thinking in different ways, at different rates - and on top of that, you have an increasing amount of paperwork to do.
"I believe some teachers go into survival mode and just pass out information to the kids, and often it doesn't meet the way individual students learn best."
Mr Pandey said teachers did not have the training to teach pupils how to learn more efficiently, despite the large amount of information available which could help teachers keep up with accelerated learning techniques.
He believed the Ministry of Education should put private tutors qualified in accelerated learning into schools to help under-achieving pupils and extend gifted pupils.
NumberWorks Otago manager Jan Savell said the franchise company's roll had more than tripled to 350 since it was established in 2001.
Although she agreed it was difficult for teachers to give pupils tailored and individualised education, she did not believe the education system was failing them.
"It used to be that New Zealanders perceived after-school tuition as something that Asian countries did. But now, in places like Australia, private tuition is the norm - particularly for those who can afford it," she said.
Substantial private tutoring industries can be found in countries as diverse as Romania, Egypt, Kenya, Taiwan, Singapore, Cambodia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Recent research shows between 25% and 90% of children in these countries take regular private tutoring classes.
North Dunedin Kip McGrath Education Centre director Steve Belsham said the rolls at the North Dunedin, South Dunedin and Mosgiel centres had increased by about 25% during the past five years.
He, too, believed it was due to an increased awareness that children had special educational needs needing support from time to time.
"I think parents see the benefits of their children getting extra support. It's a simple philosophy - to do well, you need to get one step ahead. The world is becoming very competitive."
He declined to comment on the pressures faced by school teachers in New Zealand.
"We would like to be seen as supportive of schools," he said.
The Ministry of Education was not able to comment yesterday.
