Families spending less on cram schools, tutors

A government survey has found that families with children in public elementary schools are cutting back on spending for extracurricular education amid Japan's economic slump.

More than 23,000 people nationwide who have children in kindergarten through high school responded in the latest biennial survey by the education ministry for the school year from April 2008 through the end of March 2009.

The survey showed that families with children in public elementary schools spent an average 980 dollars per child in cram school tuition and tutor's fees. The amount was about 145 dollars less than two years earlier.

Spending for extracurricular education was also down in families with kindergarteners and high school students, suggesting that the recession has finally begun to affect education costs. They had remained untouched within the household budget.