Mr Tan's energy and drive were refocused on strengthening the still infant Republic of China after the collapse of his business empire. In his view, money should also go into education to the extent that he made a public declaration that with the founding of the Republic of China, he was willing to donate his entire fortune for the promotion of education in China and Singapore.

Mr. Tan has a strong belief in the ability of education to enable people for social upliftment. He founded Amoy University (Xiamen University) for this purpose. His dedication to Amoy University is admirable, continuing to maintain and fincance Amoy University even when his business empire was in financial difficulties from 1926 to 1937. At the point of his death, he had donated $20 million to education in Fukien, having financially supported Amoy University for sixteen of its formative years.

Besides, Tan's educational grants and donations also covered the entire spectrum of education in the Fukien province of China. He founded the Chi Mei (Jimei) School in 1894, and expanded Chi Mei school into a chain of schools that covered the full spectrum of education.

Other than mainstream education, Tan also started specialized institutes that produce graduates in the fields that China was lagging behind. They included business, marine and navigation, Chinese language, agricultural as well as kindergarten teachers' training schools. Altogether, it is estimated that Mr Tan Kah Kee put in no less than ten million dollars for his educational contributions to China's Fukien province.

China was not the only beneficiary of Tan's philanthropic quest in education. Many Chinese schools in Singapore, including Tao Nan (1907), Ai Tong (1912), Chung Fook Girls School (1915), Chung Poon (1915), Singapore Chinese High School (1918), Nanyang Normal School (1941) and Nan Chiao Girls High School (1947) were founded by Mr. Tan Kah Kee. After establishing these schools, he did not neglect them. In order to provide them with the institutional support that they needed, Tan created an education Department in the Hokkien Huay Kuan to centralize the control and subsidized the operating costs of the above-stated schools. Mr. Tan did not restrict his generosity to Chinese schools. Some English-speaking institutions that are benefit from Tan's generosity included Anglo Chinese School and Raffles College.