The average annual amount spent on cram schools by households whose children attend public elementary schools jumped 14.4 percent to a record 58,000 yen between fiscal 2004 and fiscal 2002, the education ministry said Thursday.

Cram school spending by families whose children go to public junior high schools rose 8.5 percent to about 175,000 yen, setting a new record, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry said.

The growth was attributed to an increase in one-on-one style cram schools, which usually charge higher fees, a ministry official said. But it may also be a result of the nation's steadily deteriorating academic scores.

"We are not sure whether the increase stems from the trend of deterioration in academic performances," the official said.

The cram school spending survey started in 1994 and is conducted every two years.

About 19,000 households with children who attend public and private kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools responded to the survey.

For families with children in public elementary schools, average spending on cram schools hit about 44,000 yen in fiscal 2000 -- the lowest that year -- but has been rising ever since, the ministry said.

Spending by households with children in public junior high schools dropped to about 161,000 yen -- the lowest figure in fiscal 2002, it said.

In fiscal 2004, the average spending on schools and all the other educational activities, including cram schools and culture lessons, came to 238,000 yen for households with children in public kindergartens, 314,000 yen for those using public elementary schools, 469,000 yen for those using public junior high schools, and 516,000 yen for those using public senior high schools.

For households who send their children to private schools, the average amount spent came to 1.28 million yen for those in junior high school and 1.04 million yen for those in private high school.