The Indian state of Meghalaya has a literacy rate of 62.56, according to the census of 2001, and is India's 27th most literate state. This, however, had rapidly increased to 75.5 by 2011.

Regular education in Meghalaya began when the Khasi alphabet was proposed in 1842 by the Welsh missionary Thomas Jones. For the Garo Hills area, the Garo alphabet was developed in 1902 by American missionaries. No strict rules required natives of the colonies to be well educated, so only a few primary schools were functioning at the colonial time.

The first college was established in Shillong in 1924 by the Christian Brothers of Ireland. Over the years, several quality colleges and public schools were established at former hill stations. The latter were preferred for education because of their good climate and strong colonial influence.

• Indian Institute of Management Shillong
• National Institute of Technology Meghalaya
• National Institute of Fashion Technology, Shillong
• National law university

• North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences
• North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and Homeopathy

• The English and Foreign Languages University ,^[1][2]
• North Eastern Hill University, Shillong

• CMJ University
• ICFAI University, Meghalaya
• Mahatma Gandhi University, Meghalaya
• Martin Luther Christian University
• MIT University, Meghalaya
• Northeast Adventist University
• Techno global university
• William Carey University, Meghalaya
• University of Science and Technology Meghalaya

• Don Bosco Technical School, Shillong