In ancient times, Bihar was called the temple of education of India. The two major historical universities, Nalanda and Vikramshila were situated on this land. The standard of education in the early days was therefore, very rich. However, today the educational infrastructure and quality has been tampered with, as a result of which, the state is facing an acute literacy challenge.

Bihar has the lowest literacy rate in India. Due to lack of educational institutes and discrepancies in the selection process, the students are migrating to other states to pursue their higher education. In the state, Patna has the highest literacy rate with 63.82% and Kishanganj has the lowest with 31.02%.

Rapid development is expected in the field of science and technology with the help of various programmes launched by the state as well as the central government. The state is steadily moving towards modernization and prosperity.