Kamwenja Teachers’ College was started in 1924 by Bishop Perlo Vicar Apostolic of Nyeri under the sponsorship of Consolata Missionary Society who managed it up to 1958. It is located in Nyeri Central District of Nyeri County 8 Kms North West of Nyeri Town. The original name was Nyeri Teacher… read mores’ Training College started in the Mathari Pastoral centre by Consolata Missionaries of Turin, Italy. It started as a men’s college and became co-educational in 1970 with the first 20 women students admitted. It acquired the new name in 1938 derived from a fig tree that belonged to a man called Mwenja hence the name Kamwenja.
1970 was also a landmark because that was the year when the first African principal was appointed – a Mr. Francis Ndegwa, who headed the institution up to 1975.
The college stands on a 75 acre plot. The first Christian brothers from America took over in 1958 and introduced KT1 and KT2 (equivalent of P1 and P2 teachers). In 1974, St. Cecilia Women Teachers’ Training College in Mathari Mission closed down and joined Kamwenja for efficient economic management. In 1977 a special class for Teachers undertaking S1 course for the hearing impaired children was transferred from Siriba (present Maseno University) to Kamwenja Teachers’ Training College and lasted for 10 years as it was later transferred to KISE in 1996.
Our college is one of the 21 public teacher training colleges which trains P1 teachers for the Kenya Primary Schools (public and private) and across the borders i.e. the East African Community countries and beyond.
The college is established on a strong religious culture under the sponsorship of catholic Arch diocese of Nyeri. As one of the government institutions it is guided by the government policies entailed in Sessional Paper No.1 of 2005 of Education and Training.
Currently the college is managed by the Board of Management (BOM). It is chaired by His Eminence John Cardinal Njue. The Board is appointed by the Minister of Education as per the Education Act and the Chief Principal is the secretary to the Board.
The population of students has grown steadily from 200 in 1965 to 840 in 2016. The number of teaching staff today stands at 71. Non teaching staff is 53 at present.