Kakatiya University was established on 19th August, 1976 to fulfil the aspirations of the Telangana people for higher education. It is located in the historical city, Warangal, the erstwhile seat of the Kakatiya rulers. The founding of the University was in fact a historic event that heralded a new era in the realms of higher education of this region. The erstwhile Post-Graduate Centre of Osmania University was upgraded and named Kakatiya University. The University, began its journey as PG Centre Warangal in 1968 under aegis of Osmania university with only four Departments, viz. Telugu, English, Chemistry and Mathematics.

The School of Distance Learning & Continuing Education, a wing of Kakatiya University was established in 1988 to offer open and distance education programmes. The School assumes the status of Constituent College of Kakatiya University and functions as a unit under the dual Mode University. The School has evolved its own structure and mechanism duly approved by the University to conduct UG and PG programmes as per the regulations of the UGC DEB. It is the largest ODL Institution under dual mode university in the State. Presently, it offers 30 Programmes which includes UG and PG Programmes and has an enrollment of about 40,000 students.