During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period (2026-2030), Hainan will adapt to dynamic shifts in its school-age population structure, with demand for high school places reaching a concentrated peak. As the province accelerates its free trade port development, it plans to add approximately 70,000 new public ordinary high school seats to address the impending enrollment surge.
At a press conference on August 19, focusing on the "15th Five-Year Plan" series themed "Starting Strong," the Hainan Provincial Department of Education unveiled the "Hainan Province 15th Five-Year Plan for Educational Development" (the "Plan"). Director Ding Hui stated that the province will respond to demographic changes by expanding public high school capacity, targeting an additional 70,000 public ordinary high school seats.
To achieve this, the Plan outlines the implementation of a special high school development initiative, promoting diversified and distinctive schooling. This includes fostering a batch of nationally influential high schools with specialized focuses in science, sports, arts, humanities, and foreign languages. Additionally, the province will encourage partnerships between quality high schools and universities, establishing joint science and engineering laboratories and related courses. High school students will be supported in participating in engineering project research to nurture future outstanding engineers.
Furthermore, the Plan introduces a revitalization strategy for county-level ordinary high schools, advocating for the construction and expansion of new or upgraded facilities. Exploration of comprehensive high school models is also included. Targets for this period include achieving a gross enrollment rate of 98% for senior high school education and a completion rate of 89%.
Beyond expanding high school capacity, Hainan's higher education sector is set for significant growth. Ding Hui highlighted the province's critical need for talent, noting that the free trade port's development hinges on human resources. The Plan aims to boost the total number of university students to 430,000 by 2030.
According to the "2025 Hainan Provincial National Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin," as of the end of 2025, the province hosted 28 regular higher education institutions with 348,600 enrolled students. This means the target of 430,000 students represents an increase of more than 80,000 by 2030.
The Plan also emphasizes optimizing the structure of higher education, implementing a quality undergraduate expansion program, and supporting the construction of new campuses for top-tier undergraduate institutions. These measures are designed to steadily enhance the overall scale of higher education.
Vocational education remains a core focus of the Plan. Ding Hui explained that Hainan will establish a seamless training pathway from vocational high schools to professional degree graduate programs. The province will construct a vocational education development layout covering the east, west, south, north, and central regions, prioritizing the creation of modern industry colleges, industry-education integration communities, and municipal or county-level industry-education alliances. This approach aims to cultivate a greater number of "master craftsmen" and "skilled artisans" to support the free trade port.
The Plan also sets clear benchmarks for vocational education: improving the educational conditions of secondary vocational schools, ensuring that junior high school graduates have nearly universal access to senior high school education, and aiming for approximately 70% of secondary vocational graduates to advance to higher education institutions (excluding technical schools). Additionally, around 20% of higher vocational college graduates should progress to undergraduate programs, and the enrollment scale for vocational undergraduate programs should represent no less than 10% of total higher vocational education.
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