Begun in 1980 and recognized by the State Govt. of Karnataka, the institute offers a 10-month diploma certificate course in theatre arts which is roughly modelled on the three-year Bachelor’s Course offered by the National School of Drama, New Delhi. With an intake of about 15 students every year, the institute has so far turned out more than 500 trainees, a large majority of whom have engaged themselves full-time or part-time in Kannada theatre or other allied fields like journalism, socio-cultural activism, primary education, and now in the emerging field of television.