History
St. Joseph’s Technical Institute, Nyang’oma was started in 1965 by Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna. It was officially blessed on 14th November 1972 and taken over by the Ministry of Education as a Public Institution.
The Institution was started to cater for children who are deaf finishing primary education at a primary school also managed by Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna Congregation within Nyang’oma complex. The Institution was started to cater for children who are deaf finishing primary education at a primary school also managed by Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna Congregation within Nyang’oma complex.
The Dutch sisters who founded the congregation saw the need of training these young boys on technical and practical skills that would enable them to be self reliant as reflected in the motto and thus have a better and sustainable future.
At its inception, the Institution faced the challenge of qualified local skills for special education in technical skills among sisters and in the country in general. The institution therefore relied mainly on expatriates’ staff to teach the students. When this practice was no longer sustainable, the sister with the assistance of Fr. Van Ouderaa, the then parish priest of Nyang’oma Catholic Mission, identified and invited African Religious brothers (Brothers of St. Charles Lwanga) to assist in the technical teaching and who later took over the management of the institution.
In the year 2008 the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna took back the management of the institution in response to the Ministry of Education call that all institutions administrative be managed by qualified personnel. The institute was later transferred to the department of Education science and Technology under TVETA Authority as one of the Technical Training Institute.
In the course of time, the institute has upgraded its courses from trade test courses to a higher level Artisan, Craft and Diploma courses. This necessitated new registration requirements which were met. To prepare our students for the fast evolving world out there, the institute in 2009 introduced computer training at diploma level. For the last six years, the institute started inclusive education programme that gears towards mainstreaming people with disabilities into the general society. This programme is particularly encouraged and advocated for by the government as a vehicle of mainstreaming the skilled disabled persons into the general labor market smoothly.
The students’ population at institute presently stands at 597 of whom are 296 girls and 302 boys. Although the institute also admits hearing students, the institute’s original mission is still maintained as to cater for the hearing impaired who are not able to join secondary schools or those who have done their secondary education and are interested in technical training.