Household education outlays in the first quarter fell by the steepest amount in six years mainly due to fewer students and more tuition exemption benefits, a government report showed Monday.
The report by Statistics Korea showed the average household in the country spent 292,357 won (US$270.6) over the period on education-related expenses, down 4.7 percent on-year, or 14,434 won.
The decrease is the sharpest since the 6.2 percent negative growth tallied in the first three months of 2005.
The report said the decrease reflects 4.6 percent less money spent on private education that is a major contributor to overall outlays.
"The smaller number of students and more extracurricular and online study programs provided by schools and public educational offices
played a role in less money being spent on private teaching academies," the statistical office said.
More than 7.06 million students are attending elementary, middle and high schools in the country this year, down 267,000 from the year before. Compared to 2001, the number of students has fallen by roughly 1 million.
In addition, efforts by regional educational offices to give more tuition exemptions and reduce school management-related expenses played a role in less money being used.
The average household spent 21,000 won less on school tuition and operational expenses compared to the previous year. The drop of 26.8 percent is the sharpest decline since the government started
collecting data in 2003.