Education

Hunan is a leading province in education, as described by the favorable saying "Hunan people are good learners." At present, priority is given to the development of education. A modern education system has been established in Hunan including preschool education, basic education, higher education, vocational education and adult education.
 
Over the past decades, Hunan has steadily promoted educational development at various levels, and made historical leap from a populous province to an educational powerhouse. 

By the end of 2024, there were 128 general institutions of higher learning around the province. Graduate education produced 34,000 graduates, while 471,000 students graduated from regular higher education, 236,000 from secondary vocational education, 475,000 from regular senior high schools, 897,000 from junior high schools, and 939,000 from primary schools. The number of children in kindergartens totaled 1.581 million, down by 13.9 percent over the previous year. The enrollment rate for school-age children in primary schools reached 100 percent. There were 8,948 private schools of various types, with a total student population of 2.024 million. National scholarships and grants amounting to 1.69 billion CNY were distributed to undergraduate and junior college students, benefiting 815,000 students. National grants totaling 480 million CNY were provided to 482,000 secondary vocational students. A total of 11.55 billion CNY was allocated to support compulsory education, and 530 million CNY was disbursed as national grants to support students in regular senior high schools.

The latest list released by China's Ministry of Education shows that, as of June 20, 2025, the Chinese mainland has 3,167 universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher learning. According to the list, Hunan has 158 institutions of higher education, including 147 universities and colleges and 11 adult higher education institutions.