The earliest educational institutions which became illustrious in the city were C.S.I. Boys High School (1831), St. Michael’s Higher Secondary School (1860), and Stanes Anglo Indian Higher School (1862). In 1867, the first group of students appeared for the SSLC Examinations from Coimbatore and it was followed by St. Francis Anglo Indian Girls High School (1880), Sarvajana High School (1910) and Suburban Higher Secondary School (1917) later on.

Various types of schools are located in Coimbatore. They are: Government and Corporation schools, Schools funded by the Government but run by the private trusts (Aided schools) and Schools funded and administered by the private trusts. As per the syllabus they pay heed to, the schools are classified as Tamil Nadu Anglo- Indian Board, Tamil Nadu State Board, Matriculation and CBSE schools.

Coimbatore houses many state owned universities like Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (est. 1971), Bharathiyar University, Anna University Coimbatore, Karunya University (1986), Avinashilingam University (1987), Amrita University and Karpagam University. The first college which was opened in Coimbatore was the Government Arts College (1875-76). The Forest College and Research Institute was opened in 1916. The first engineering college in the city was started by G.D. Naidu, in the name of ‘Hope College’ in 1945. Later it became the Government College of Technology. The Air Force Administrative College was established in 1949. Coimbatore Medical College was opened in 1966 and the law college started functioning from 1978. The two famous private Engineering Colleges which bloomed in the 1950s were PSG College of Technology and Coimbatore Institute of Technology (CIT).