China's student aid tops 390b yuan in 2025 as coverage expands

Student aid recipients in China reached 160 million in 2025, up more than 5 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Education said on Tuesday.

Total funding topped 390 billion yuan ($57.6 billion) in 2025, up by more than 14 percent from 2024, ministry data showed.

Government appropriations remained the primary source of funding, contributing about 240 billion yuan, or roughly 60 percent of the total, Liu Yuguang, head of the ministry's Department of Finance, said at a news conference.

Notably, State-subsidized student loans surged 34 percent year-on-year to 127.7 billion yuan in 2025, accounting for about one-third of all aid funds — a clear signal of the country's commitment to making education accessible to all, ensuring that every child, regardless of family background, has the opportunity to succeed, he said.

China's student aid system is largely government-funded, with support from schools and society. It offers both grants and loans, and focuses on helping the needy while also rewarding excellence, he said. "The system guarantees that no student is denied education because of family financial difficulties."

The policy upgrades for 2025 included waiving tuition and educational fees for the first year of preschool at public kindergartens starting in the autumn semester, which benefited more than 14 million kindergarten pupils, Liu said.

In compulsory education, the nutrition improvement program, which offers 5 yuan of daily subsidies per rural student for their meals, was expanded to include urban areas in former concentrated poverty-stricken counties.

In addition, the average annual high school grant was raised from 2,000 yuan to 2,300 yuan per student, and postgraduate academic scholarships were increased to 10,000 yuan for master's candidates and 12,000 yuan for doctoral candidates, up from 8,000 and 10,000 yuan respectively.

The ministry also highlighted improved management efficiency. Student data is now shared across multiple ministries, enabling schools to identify eligible students from low-income, special-needs or disabled households while protecting personal privacy.