S.G.A. Government Degree College was established in the year 1987 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The college has offered two courses namely B.A with H.E.P (History, Economics, Politics) and B.Com (General) from the academic year 1987-88. Two new courses namely B.Sc (Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry ) and B.Sc (Botany, Zoology, Chemistry) were started in the Academic Year 1997-98. A restructured course, BSc (Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science), was started in the academic year 2006-07. A new restructured course B.A (History, Economics, Rural Industrialisation) was started from the academic year 2011-12 replacing the conventional B. A (History, Economics, Politics) course.
The college was named after eminent social reformer, educationalist and modern age poet Sri Gurajada Appa Rao. He belongs to a village Sarvariddi Rayavaram, which is 10 kilometres away from Yellamanchili. The college is most accessible and is catering to the educational needs of rural students in the Visakhapatnam district of North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. The college is located in Yellamanchili. Yellamanchili is a Municipality and is well connected by road and rail to the port city of Visakhapatnam. The nearest airport is Visakhapatnam.