Before independence the people of this geographically difficult territory lived in isolation due to lack of connectivity/communication. Therefore, the people could rarely keep contact with the outsiders except a few British officers and Indian porters who accompanied them in their exploration in the thick jungles of the territory.

• The people of the territory did not know anything about reading and writing except the Khamtis and Tibetans who had their own scripts.

• The territory was also known to the outsiders as Forbidden Land. However, at the dawn of independence in 1947, the Govt. of India took certain steps to spread education in this territory under NEFA administration and formal interventions in education sector could be carried out in this state.

• It was officially recorded that there were only 3 Primary Schools with 35 enrolments. When the first ever census was conducted in the State in 1961, the literacy rate was recorded at 7.23% against 28.30% of all India. As per the latest Census 2011 Report, the State has achieved the 66.95% literacy rate but it is still below the national average of 74.04% with 73.69% for male & 59.57% for female.

• During this period there was no separate education administrative setup in NEFA. The political officers of the areas were required to look after all the matters related to education.

• However, in the month of September’1947 the Education Department was created for NEFA. Indira Miri, an exceptionally able lady from the Assam plains tribal community of Miris was appointed as the NEFA’s Education Officer for the first time.

• The Education officer was to look after all the affairs of education with the help & guidance of political officers. The administration & supervision of educational problems were carried out by the Education Officer from Sadiya as it was the headquarters of administrative departments for NEFA before and after independence.

• During this period there was no separate education administrative setup in NEFA. The political officers of the areas were required to look after all the matters related to education.

• However, in the month of September’1947 the Education Department was created for NEFA. Indira Miri, an exceptionally able lady from the Assam plains tribal community of Miris was appointed as the NEFA’s Education Officer for the first time.

• The Education officer was to look after all the affairs of education with the help & guidance of political officers. The administration & supervision of educational problems were carried out by the Education Officer from Sadiya as it was the headquarters of administrative departments for NEFA before and after independence.

• A Teacher Training Institute was also established in the month of December’1947 for imparting training to the teachers for spread of education in the interior areas of the territory. The trained teachers from this Institute were sent out for opening new schools in various parts of the territory. The Assam Education Manual, Syllabi and Curricula were followed till 1972 after which medium of instructions became English.

• There occurred a great flood and the beautiful town of Sadiya on the bank of Brahmaputra was badly damaged and then Education department and Teachers Training Institute were shifted to Margherita in Assam in 1952.

• Thus the first phase of development of education in NEFA was over with the great flood of 1952.

• In 1956, the designation of Education Officer was abolished and the post of Director of Education was created. On 20th November’1956 Shri Shyam Lal Soni became the first Director of Education.

• The history of higher education in the State started with the establishment of the J.N. College, Pasighat on 4th July 1964 with enrolment of 42 students.

• The Directorate of Higher & Technical Education was established in 1996 by bifurcating the erstwhile Directorate of Public Instruction.

• In addition to the normal functioning of Directorate of Higher Education, it has been entrusted to deal with the implementation of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) since last 5 years. Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013 which aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions. The objective of RUSA is to achieve equity, access and excellence in higher education.

• The erstwhile Directorate of School Education was bifurcated into two distinct and separate Directorates on 28th October’ 2010.

A. The Directorate of Elementary Education [DEE].
B. The Directorate of Secondary Education [DSE].

• The Directorate of Elementary Education looks after the entire educational system of Elementary Education from Class – I to VIII. The Department of Elementary Education is committed to implement “Free and Compulsory Education” to all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years as enshrined in the RTE Act 2009. The RTE Act 2009 has been implemented effectively in the state of Arunachal Pradesh since 2010.