--- title: "The top province for higher education, crazily filling in the gaps" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/270618718.md" description: "The Henan Provincial Department of Education recently announced the proposed application for four undergraduate institutions, including Henan University of Electronic Science and Technology, established based on Zhongyuan University of Technology, and Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, established based on Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics Management. In recent years, Henan has been committed to addressing the shortcomings in higher education resources and technological innovation capabilities, becoming the province with the highest number of universities. By expanding universities, Henan hopes to increase the gross enrollment rate in higher education to meet the enormous demand from candidates" datetime: "2025-12-23T12:56:12.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/270618718.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/270618718.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/270618718.md) --- # The top province for higher education, crazily filling in the gaps ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OkDdXqEnytt3fJO2A5XCRWlHvuGePT4E-OypzFopeco8sAA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) **"New University" has finally arrived** Recently, the Henan Provincial Department of Education announced four institutions that plan to apply for undergraduate status. It was revealed that Henan University of Electronic Technology will be established based on Zhongyuan University of Technology, and Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics will be established based on Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. In recent years, Henan has been building universities at a rapid pace, becoming the province with the most higher education institutions, but still faces the awkward situation of being "large but not strong, numerous but not excellent." To address this, Henan has been working hard in recent years to fill the gaps in high-quality higher education resources and insufficient technological innovation capabilities. As early as 2021, Henan proposed to serve the national major strategies and regional economic and industrial development needs by optimizing the structure and layout of universities. One important action was to "attract leading innovative enterprises and high-end research institutes to jointly establish new research-oriented engineering universities such as electronic technology universities and aerospace universities." Now, this vision is gradually becoming a reality. What impact will the arrival of these two "new universities" have on Henan? **01** **A Journey of Reversal** Once a "lowland" of higher education, Henan has quietly reversed its fortunes to become the province with the highest number of universities. As of June 20, 2025, Henan has 178 regular higher education institutions, surpassing educational provinces like Jiangsu, Shandong, and Guangdong. After topping the list in 2024, it has once again claimed the title of "the province with the highest number of universities in the country." With the expansion of universities, Zhengzhou has also become the second city in the country in terms of enrolled university students, surpassing major cities like Wuhan, Nanjing, and Chengdu. ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OtxeG9TgOFUCt03uGVEwfj0VZ2loLZ5fdbGxHWqntFSYkAA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Looking at the long term, Henan has made a remarkable turnaround. In 2020, it had 151 universities, ranking fourth in the country. Three years later, the number of universities increased to 168, tying for first place with Jiangsu; by 2024, it further increased to 174, topping the nation. In the past five years, Henan has added a total of 27 universities, averaging five new institutions each year, with a growth rate that stands out nationally, making it one of the biggest winners in the "crazy university construction" movement. ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OrJ3die8YPkIJHGEGo-HqfJLc8fr3Aga08Zz-aljztYo8AA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Henan's "crazy university construction" is aimed at ensuring that a large number of students "have schools to attend." As a major province for college entrance examinations, Henan will have 1.36 million candidates in 2024, nearly double that of Guangdong. Compared to the large number of candidates, the number of universities in Henan is still insufficient, and the gross enrollment rate in higher education has always been below the national average level In particular, in 2021, the gross enrollment rate for higher education in Henan was 53.1%, which was 4.7 percentage points lower than the national average. By 2024, the gross enrollment rate for higher education in Henan increased to 59.59%. Although it is still lower than the national rate of 60.2% during the same period, the gap has significantly narrowed. The popularity of higher education has increased, but Henan is still criticized for having universities that are "large but not strong," with "quantity but no quality." In recent years, most of the newly established universities in Henan are vocational colleges. In the "craziest" year of 2023, Henan added 11 vocational colleges in one go, reaching a total of 110, becoming the only province in the country with over 100. From 2020 to 2025, Henan will add 22 vocational colleges, accounting for over 80% of the newly established higher education institutions. Therefore, what supports the title of "the first province for higher education" is the large number of vocational colleges in Henan. ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OAf8-9PwDdsFEStR_0a6jzsog6tJPApvySV5ucz15loVsAA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) By 2025, Henan will have 116 vocational colleges, ranking first in the country, accounting for 65% of all higher education institutions in the province. In contrast, other major provinces for higher education such as Jiangsu, Shandong, and Guangdong have a proportion of vocational colleges around 55%, nearly 10 percentage points lower than Henan. Looking at high-level universities, as of today, Henan has no directly affiliated universities under the Ministry of Education, no 985 universities, and only one 211 university (Zhengzhou University), with only two "Double First Class" universities (Zhengzhou University and Henan University). In fact, Henan has been taking multiple approaches to develop higher education. However, compared to building vocational colleges, establishing a good university requires more resources and takes longer. "Central provinces are strengthening the linkage between higher education and scientific innovation. If Henan does not break through, it will fall behind in the 'rise of the central region.' National strategies such as ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River basin also require Henan to undertake more innovative missions," said Chen Yao, vice president and secretary-general of the Chinese Regional Economics Society, to Urban Evolution. Under the pressure of regional competition, Henan should optimize its higher education layout and create a "distinctive and collaborative" university system. **02** **Innovative Shortcomings** In fact, Henan has long realized that "if it cannot become an innovation hub, it will fall into a development lowland." Behind the desire for high-level universities, Henan has long struggled with weak scientific and technological innovation capabilities. Taking the Science and Technology Innovation Board companies as an example, as of 2024, Henan has only 5, ranking low among central provinces, far behind Anhui (24) and Hunan (16). "Compared to developed provinces, there is still a significant gap in technological innovation in our province." During this year's Henan "Two Sessions," Pang Jinhong, a member of the Henan Provincial Political Consultative Conference and the Science and Technology Association sector, pointed out that technological innovation is a prominent shortcoming restricting the modernization of Henan Province. Especially in terms of R&D investment, in 2024, Henan's R&D expenditure intensity is 2.01%, ranking 17th in the country, which is inconsistent with its status as an economic powerhouse ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/Oy8l0wLy1KVz744aAwpX8PxZJmqpivdU1-yu0doT0TDgUAA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Image source: National Bureau of Statistics More critically, the strategic technological support in Henan is weak. There are currently no large scientific facilities or national laboratories, and the 16 national key laboratories account for only about 3% of the national total, which is less than that of central provinces like Hubei and Hunan. These factors have led to insufficient motivation for industrial innovation in Henan, with traditional industries still accounting for as much as 46% of the manufacturing sector, while emerging industries only make up 24%. Against this backdrop, as early as 2021, Henan issued the "Implementation Opinions on Enhancing the Technological Innovation Capabilities of Higher Education Institutions," proposing that by 2025, all provincial cities and the Jiyuan Demonstration Zone in Henan achieve full coverage of undergraduate universities, filling the gaps in electronic technology, aerospace, sports, fine arts, and other types of undergraduate institutions, with science and engineering universities reaching over 60%. According to the plan, Henan will build Zhengzhou University into a world-class university and Henan University into a first-class discipline university, while supporting 11 disciplines across 7 universities, including Henan University of Science and Technology, to create first-class disciplines; At the same time, it will actively promote universities to participate in the construction of national (key) laboratories, lead or participate in the establishment of Henan provincial laboratories, and cultivate national frontier science centers, basic discipline research centers, etc., as "strategic support." With a series of planning and deployment being implemented, the effects are beginning to gradually emerge. Currently, Henan has attracted several top universities, including Peking University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Beijing Institute of Technology, to jointly establish research institutes, covering a wide range of research fields from basic science to cutting-edge technology, from artificial intelligence to biomedicine. In terms of innovation platform construction, Henan has laid out 27 provincial laboratories, 6 industrial technology research institutes, 61 provincial-level R&D pilot bases, and 19 manufacturing innovation centers, forming an innovation chain from R&D to industrialization. Now, the long-planned Henan University of Electronic Technology and Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics are also getting closer to reality. In Henan's vision, these two universities are important steps to fill the innovation gap in Henan, which not only concerns the transformation of higher education in Henan but also relates to the long-term development of the regional innovation ecosystem. **03** **Integration of Science and Industry** In recent years, Henan has been at a critical period of industrial transformation, laying out seven major industrial clusters including new materials, new energy vehicles, and electronic information, serving as a strategic support for promoting new industrialization. The establishment of Henan University of Electronic Technology and Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics is precisely a "necessary path" to fill the gap in undergraduate institutions for electronic technology and aerospace in Henan, in line with the demand for industrial transformation and upgrading in Henan. ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OQAKvv_MhPG2IWbGNQEQ4XIzoqosKVo_nJRoU0FzXGOuUAA/1000?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) Construction site photos of Henan University of Electronic Technology. Image source: Zhengzhou Aviation Port Release Taking Henan University of Electronic Technology as an example, it is located in the Science and Technology Innovation City of Zhengzhou Aviation Port District, positioned as an "electronic information highland," bearing the responsibility of filling the talent gap in high-end chips and artificial intelligence in Henan. According to Henan Daily, Henan University of Electronic Technology focuses on "Electronic Information +" and "Artificial Intelligence +," with electronic information-related majors accounting for 35%, including robotics engineering, integrated circuit design, and integrated systems. Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics and Astronautics serves the development of aviation, aerospace, and low-altitude economy in Henan. In August last year, Henan's "Implementation Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of the Provincial Low-Altitude Economy (2024-2027)" mentioned accelerating the establishment of Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, speeding up the construction of the new campus, strengthening the development of disciplines and majors related to the low-altitude economy, and cultivating practical and urgently needed professionals in the low-altitude economy. Looking at the entire province of Henan, in recent years, Henan has focused on reforming the adjustment and optimization mechanism of disciplines and majors, with provincial key disciplines and undergraduate majors directly serving and supporting the province's key industrial chain groups accounting for over 70%. By 2027, it will also cultivate and establish more than 200 emerging interdisciplinary and urgently needed specialized disciplines. "The fundamental purpose of building universities in Henan is to shift from 'scale catch-up' to 'quality breakthrough,'" said Chen Yao. In general, Henan needs to enhance its scientific and technological innovation capabilities closely aligned with industrial demands, achieving the integration of the "education chain - talent chain - industrial chain - innovation chain" through deep interaction between universities and cities, ultimately promoting Henan from a "province with a large number of higher education institutions" to a "province with strong higher education" and "strong scientific and technological innovation." In addition to policy design, the deepening of the integration of science and industry requires clear path guidance. Chen Yao believes that Henan needs to implement differentiated policies based on industry types, accurately match scientific and technological innovation service models, and achieve an upgrade from "support" to "lead." Traditional advantageous industries rely on universities to carry out process optimization and intelligent transformation, reducing costs and improving efficiency; Strategic emerging industries focus on tackling technical challenges, strengthening and supplementing the industrial chain, and promoting universities to break through key core technologies; In future industries, support universities in establishing interdisciplinary fields, cultivating professional talents in advance, and seizing technological high ground. As the core carrier of scientific and technological innovation and industry in Henan, Zhengzhou's demonstration and leading role is particularly crucial. Chen Yao emphasized that the interaction between Zhengzhou and universities such as Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Henan University of Electronic Technology needs to build a deeply binding relationship of "jointly raising demand, jointly building platforms, and sharing results." For example, using an "industrial map" to anchor the direction of university disciplines, guiding universities to accurately connect with the key industrial demands of Zhengzhou's "chip, display, and automotive integration," promoting industrial transformation, seizing development opportunities, and building core competitiveness for future development. Text | Liu Xuqiang \\\* Cover image source: Shetu Network\_501756693\\\* Urban Evolution Theory original production, unauthorized copying and reproduction are not allowed, otherwise legal responsibility will be pursued ### Related Stocks - [563380.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/563380.CN.md) - [300114.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/300114.CN.md) ## Related News & Research - [Stock Of The Day: Is American Airlines Breaking Out?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290735240.md) - [Trump To Secure Control Of Greenland In 2026? 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