IGNOU Regional Centre, Itanagar was established in 2000 in deference to IGNOU’s broader philosophy of democratizing higher education and reaching the unreached. The Regional Centre was established under the North East Project. The project itself mandates establishments of study centres in the far flung areas of the north eastern part of the country to provide quality and cost effective education to the people of the region.

Located at Naharlagun, in Arunachal Pradesh, about 420 km from Guwahati and 14 km from Itanagar, the Regional Centre had a very humble beginning in November 2000. The Centre began its operations from two rented rooms. Since then the facilities were shifted to an adjacent plot of land where the office space was increased. Today the Regional Centre has a fully functional computer laboratory and facilities for conducting workshops and teleconferencing sessions through Sattelite Interactive Terminals. The Centre is easily accessible being located on the highway connecting Banderdewa, the gateway to Arunachal Pradesh, to Itanagar.

Arunachal Pradesh, literally the land of dawn lit mountains, is a thinly populated state. It covers an area of 83,743 sq kms. Administratively, the state is divided into sixteen districts. The state has a long international border with Bhutan to the west (160 km), China to the North and north-east (1080 kms) and Myanmar to the east(440 kms). It stretches from the snow capped mountains in the north to the plains of the Brahmaputra valley in the South. Area-wise, Arunachal Pradesh is the largest state in the region.

The study centre at Itanagar Government College, later renamed Dera Natung Govt. College, pre-dates the establishment of the Regional Centre. Those days, the study centre operated under the aegis of Shillong and later on Guwahati Regional Centre. The learners enrolled at the study centre often had to undertake the cumbersome journey to Guwahati to receive student support services. The establishment of the Regional Centre at Naharlagun has alleviated the tribulations of the student community of Arunachal Pradesh. The drive to reach out to the remotest areas through opening of new study centres continues.