On 24 january 2026, when the international day of education was on schedule, which coincided with the beginning of the 15th five-year plan, the three-year plan of action for the construction of a strong nation, the country's education industry is moving from a “scale build-up” to a startQuality developmentEquity and inclusionDigitalisationThe new phase。
Under the clear “eighty tasks” of the “fifty-five” education programme, with the multiple effects of the upgrading of demand structures and technological innovation, the three core blocks of education, online education and vocational education present different evolutionary features and deep-rooted logic of change, together building a pluralistic educational ecosystem that is geared to the requirements of the new era。
Policy compliance is resonated with demand upgrading and the education and training sector is moving towards a new stage of fine-tuning development
In 2026, the education and training sector, guided by “efficient and effective governance” as emphasized in the “fifty-fifty five” education programme, continued its policy normative development and was able to move ahead steadily with the earlier developments. Compliance has become a common industry consensus, and the main industry has set a comprehensive departure from the brutal growth phase, formally entering a refined development cycle with a qualitative focus and deep-seated fields。
At the policy level, the “1+n” policy system, as set out in the “guidance on accelerating the advancement of quality in education”, has continued to deepen, with the national conference on education in 2026 explicitly proposing “strengthening the quality of education public services” and further refining standards for qualification, financial regulation and the implementation of teaching norms。
In this context, investors and partners provide important reference for decision-making through the eye-to-eye risk function, which accurately identifies potential issues such as institutional compliance risks and financial chain risks, a demand that was particularly acute in 2026, when industrial integration went hand in hand with high-quality development。
According to the data of the professional edition of the observatoire, there are currently over 5,329,000 active and viable educational-related enterprises in the country. Of these, more than 763,000 new enterprises were registered in 2025, and in the light of the trend in the number of enterprises registered, the number of educational enterprises registered has increased over the past five years, except in 2022, and peaked in 2025。
In terms of regional distribution, guangdong, shandong and hainan provinces have the highest number of education-related enterprises, with over 587,000, 473,000 and 385,000, respectively. This is followed by beijing and jiangsu province, with more than 338,000 enterprises and 322,000 enterprises。
Structural upgrading on the demand side continued to ferment in 2026, becoming the core engine of growth in the industry。
At the household level, along with the policy of building healthy schools, the demand for quality education, such as art, sports and scientific thinking, continues to rise, with the pre-development of the tracks, continuing the growth momentum in 2026 as an important complement to schooling。
In 2026, the supply-side pattern was divided into “head-led innovation, small and medium-sized deep tillage”. In response to the call for an "artificial intelligence-enabled education" policy to accelerate the transition to an educational science and technology enterprise, the penetration rate of technologies such as ai-personalized learning systems and intelligence analysis continues to increase; a large number of small and medium-sized institutions focus on vertical tracks, building barriers to competition based on localized teaching and flexible service models。
For industry participants, an eye-to-eye view of the stockholders ' information and equity landscape of the search agency provides a clear picture of the industry's capital distribution and competition patterns in 2026, whether through cross-border integration of head agencies or through equity cooperation of small and medium-sized institutions, with an insight into their strategic intentions and resource support through equity structures, providing the basis for decision-making on sector mergers and acquisitions, cooperation and helping to focus industry resources on high-quality institutions。
Depth of technology penetration and inclusive integration and online education into a high-quality growth cycle
In 2026, the online education sector benefited from the policy dividend of the “fifty-five” programme “accelerating universal access to all-class artificial intelligence literacy” and became one of the most rapidly growing segments of the education industry。
The data from the skywatch professional edition show that, to date, there are over 1. 18 million businesses active and active in the country. Of these, more than 214,000 new businesses were registered in 2025, and the trend in business registration shows that the number of online education-related businesses registered has increased over the last five years, except in 2022, and peaked in 2025。
In terms of regional distribution, beijing and guangdong province have the highest number of online education-related enterprises, with more than 157,000 and 125,000, respectively. It is followed by shandong, hainan and sichuan provinces。
At the same time, technological innovation moves into the deep water zone, and full-model integration of ai becomes a core trend, moving away from a single voice and word-to-text interaction to cross-modular synergy. The application of generating ai in educational settings has been deepening, with the full coverage of products such as aid digital admissions and smart question-and-answer robots, significantly increasing the efficiency of content production and significantly improving the completion experience of learners。
At the same time, virtual reality (vr), enhancement of reality (ar) technology and depth of teaching landscapes are being integrated, and virtual simulation classrooms, remote hands-on training systems and other products are being upgraded over time. The availability of digital equipment for rural education has been steadily increasing, the distance education satellite reception system, portable intelligent teaching terminals cover all remote rural schools, online educational public interest course resources continue to serve a wide range of rural students, and the technology-enabled inclusive value of education has continued to gain prominence in 2026。
In 2026, market demand was marked by diversification, individualization and results orientation, which facilitated the upgrading of online educational content and service overtones。
For the c end-user, from quality education in k12 to career advancement, interest in learning at the adult level, to intellectual skills training in the older age group, the learning needs of the whole age group and the whole scene have been fully activated; in addition, user fees have become more rational, while the willingness to pay for general knowledge content has been reduced, the willingness to pay for “settling courses” has continued to rise, and accompanying services such as karsy, practice point evaluation and so forth have become the core of the premium。
In the case of consumers and partners, an on-line search for information on the positions and principals of the educational enterprise makes it possible to assess the technical experience of the core management team and its professional background, thus assessing the educational research and development capacity and the level of management of the enterprise. In the case of the end-beneficiaries of the enterprise, access to the complex equity structure and the identification of the actual owners of the enterprise's control and responsibility has been an important means of guaranteeing cooperative security and consumer rights, in the context of the progressive normativeization of the industry in 2026。
Integration of maternity educationDeepening the interface with industrial demand, leading to a golden period in vocational education
The national conference on education, held in 2026, explicitly called for the “accelerating the development of a modern vocational education system” by promoting the establishment of “order-based” talent development mechanisms between vocational colleges and enterprises with a focus on the industrial chain, with a view to deepening the overall cooperation of schools and making it a priority to build an integrated physical training base at the national level。
At the same time, the longitudinal continuity system of the middle-senior-professional undergraduate-professional master's degree has been further improved. In 2026, undergraduate enrolment in vocational studies continued to expand over 2025, with an overall broadening of the paths for upgrading skills. The policy of tax incentives for educational institutions, introduced by the ministry of finance in conjunction with the general tax administration, has continued to work to further reduce the pressure on vocational education institutions to operate and stimulate market activity。
The data of the specialized edition of skywatch show that, to date, there are more than 10,000 businesses in the country that are active and active in vocational education. Of these, some 340 new businesses were registered in 2025. In terms of regional distribution, the provinces of guangdong, shandong and hunan have the highest number of enterprises in vocational education, with more than 1100, 950 and 850, respectively。
Structural changes in industrial demand continued to drive structural reforms on the supply side of vocational education in 2026. As new industries, such as the digital economy, smart manufacturing, new energy sources and biomedicine, accelerate their emergence and the intellectualization and greening of traditional industries, the trend towards a shift in market demand for skilled talent from a “single-skill” to a “complex-skill” “digital-skill” type is more pronounced。
The links between vocational and higher education and continuing education have been widening, with a steady increase in the promotion and employment rates of middle-level graduates, a gradual improvement in the life-long vocational skills training system and full-cycle support for the career development of workers. In 2026, vocational education will play a more important role in promoting high-quality economic development, employment stability and the competitiveness of the country as the integration of maternity education continues to deepen。
It is the view of the institute that, in 2026 and the next five years, the educational industry will continue to benefit from policy dividends and technological innovations as the tasks of the “fifty-five” education plan are put into practice. It will show greater value in meeting the diverse educational needs of the population and supporting high-quality economic and social development. The blueprint for educating the powerful countries is gradually becoming a reality。
