Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University (KKHSOU), the sole State Open University in North East India, was founded under the KKHSOU Act, 2005, passed by the Government of Assam and published in the Assam Gazette (extraordinary) on 29/09/2005. The university received recognition from the former Distance Education Council (DEC), (now Distance Education Bureau, UGC), New Delhi through letter no. DEC/Misc/07/5957 dated 03/10/2007. The University Grants Commission, in a letter dated 18/03/2009 with reference no. F.9-13/2008(CPP-I), empowered the university to confer Degrees under Section 22 of the UGC Act, 1956. Established as the 14thOpen University in India, alongside IGNOU, the University's Headquarters is situated at Patgaon, Rani, Guwahati. It commenced operations with the appointment of Prof. Srinath Baruah, former Professor in the Department of Economics at Gauhati University, as its founder Vice-Chancellor.

Established with the motto “Education Beyond Barriers”, KKHSOU aims to advance education by reaching out to the learners irrespective of their age, academic background and geographical constraints. The university is committed to delivering easily accessible and quality higher education and training to all potential learners, incorporating the latest educational and technological advancements. Due to the inherent flexibility in terms of learning pace, location, and evaluation methods, the university pledges to provide equal opportunities for higher education and to include those who had hitherto been deprived of education. The academic programmes of the University are designed to extend education to learners throughout the region, with course structures aligned with National Curriculum Standards. In addition to the traditional UG and PG programmes, KKHSOU offers various professional Certificate and Diploma programmes, allowing even the enrolled learners in various colleges, universities and other educational institutions to pursue additional studies in the form of Add-on courses concurrently with their regular courses.

Education, with its formative impact on an individual’s mind, character and physical abilities, serves as the backbone of a society. KKHSOU, with a robust learner base of more than 5 Lakhs, is dedicated to fostering a knowledge-based society by delivering quality higher education through the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Mode in the North Eastern region of India and contributing the increase GER in Higher education in a country like India. Starting from the academic session of July 2023, the university offers UG and PG programmes in accordance with the requirements of the NEP 2020 (National Education Policy 2020). More specifically, the UG programmes are offered as per the Curriculum and Credit Framework for the Two-Year PG Programmes of the UGC (December, 2022) as well as subsequent official notification and the Model Framework of the Department of Higher Education, Government of Assam, dated 25/01/2023 regarding the implementation of the NEP 2020 in the State of Assam.