On the whole, the school enrolment rate in the Cree population increased considerably between 1970 and 2001. In 1967, six Crees had completed high school. In 1971, only five Crees were attending a postsecondary institution, and only an estimated 36 Crees had completed high school.

By 2001, 3,260 Crees had high school diplomas, or 40% of the population age 15 and over. The Cree population nonetheless remains less well-educated than the general population of Québec, though the gap narrows every year: the percentage of Crees 15 years of age and older who do not have a high school diploma (60% in 2001) is still much greater than that among Quebecers as a whole (32% in 2001). On the other hand, the number of graduates of vocational training centres has increased significantly in the last twenty years and now represents 11% of the Cree population 15 years of age and older, which is on a par with the Québec average.

It is in the communities in the southern part of the territory that we find the highest percentage of Crees with postsecondary diplomas (40% in Oujé-Bougoumou, 33% in Waswanipi and 30% in Mistissini) and diplomas from vocational schools (16% in Oujé-Bougoumou, 14% in Waswanipi and 12% in Mistissini). Eastmain also has a high percentage of graduates of vocational training programs (13%). The percentage of Crees 15 years of age and over with a university degree (5%) is about one third of the Québec average (14%).