Higher education in Tripura had a late start. Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) College, the first degree college in the State, started functioning under the University of Calcutta only in 1947. Not that there was no attempt in the past in Princely Tripura to establish any higher educational institution. That showed the urge of the people for higher education because, compared to the national average, along with the growth of population in the state, the literacy rate of Tripura was also higher since in