London, July 31 (IANS) Millions of cash-strapped parents have been forced to take out money from their savings meant for their children’s education, to cover the rising cost of living, a study in Britain has found.
The survey found nearly three million families were forced to withdraw over a third of their saved ‘educational funds’ in order to fund day-to-day living costs, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Researchers found that just one in five parents was in a position to replace the money as a growing number of households face unprecedented financial pressures.
The ICM survey found a quarter of families have reduced the amount they spend on their kids’ private education while 109,000 parents have pulled their children out of public school.
It also found that over a quarter of million grandparents were funding their grandchildren’s private education.
Robin Stoakley, the UK managing director of Schroders’, the asset management company, which commissioned the survey, said the rising cost of living had placed a ‘major strain on household finances’.
‘Many people have been unable to save adequately for private education and of those who have, other financial necessities have forced many to raid their educational funds,’ he further said.
