Established in 1981, the School has emerged as a major distance education provider in Kerala. Annually about 30 thousand students enrol for the programmes of the School available under two streams – Regular and Open. Regular Stream Courses are meant for those who wish to pursue their studies though distance education mode provided they satisfy the conditions prescribed for admission to the graduate and postgraduate programmes offered in colleges affiliated to the University.

Open stream courses are tailored to meet the educational needs of those who have not acquired the basic qualification needed for admission to regular courses. All those who attain the age of 18 years on July, in the year of admission are eligible to seek admission to open stream courses However, such candidates must appear for an entrance examination conducted by the School and secure a minimum of 35% mark.

Currently, the School offers 16 graduate courses, 13 postgraduate courses and two diploma courses. Students admitted to these courses are provided printed study materials. All students are expected to attend contact programmes and training sessions arranged regularly at notified centres.
The School has approved 18 educational institutions in different States of India to enrol students for various courses offered by the School. Also, the School has six approved overseas centres at Sharjah, Abu Dhabi , Doha , Kuwait and Bahrain .Students can use the library of the School of Distance Education as also the C.H.M.K Library of the University, both located on the main campus of the University.