Overview

Bondo Teachers College was established in 1991. Upon its inception it was domiciled at Nyakasumbi within Bondo town, Maranda division of Bondo Sub county ,Siaya county. In that year it admitted its first lot of students in certificate course in primary teacher education (PTE), who eventually graduated as P1 in 1993. Following the need and expansion of University education in Kenya,Bondo Teachers College became a constituent of Maseno University just like several other institutions of Primary teachers training colleges in Kenya. Consequently in 2009,Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) took over the facility that was Bondo Teachers Training at Nyakasumbi to become a fully-fledged chartered University.

Proceeding from the above events, a new site for the Teachers training college was identified at Bar Kanyango in Usigu Division, Bondo sub County , Siaya county where the primary teacher college relocated to in 2010. The current Bondo Diploma Teachers Training College was therefore incepted in 2010, however it was still offering training in P1 certificate. Two years (2012) after inception, the first cohort of 202 graduands were released into the teaching force labor market with a P1 certificate. The above number grew steadily to 213(2013), 341(2014), 348(2015), 403(2016), a drop in 2017 to 317, 354(2018) respectively. With the need for education still growing in the country, the college made a step in meeting this demand and started offering diploma and certificate in early childhood development (ECDE).

In 2020 the college graduated a total of 251 P1 certificate graduands, 9 ECDE diploma graduands, 36 ECDE certificate graduands, plus 7 proficiency course teachers some of whom came back to undertake certificate in ECDE. It is worthy to note that this graduation took place in the backdrop of the advent of covid -19 that went on to paralyze activities worldwide. The advent of this pandemic nearly brought activities in the college to a standstill. Upon resumption of normalcy after the covid-19, the college * admitted teacher trainees who were P1 graduates but they came in for an upgrade program in Diploma in Primary Teacher education UDPTE. Another lot came to upgrade to Diploma in Early Childhood Education UDECTE in 2021. The change in entry requirement points policy led a big drop in TTC applications leading to afew students joining college. This scenario changed only after the government rescinded the earlier directive on cutoff grade marks requirement for admission into TTC. Upon the lifting of the moratorium on qualification requirements, there was an upsurge in college admissions with Bondo admitting 607 students to undertake a diploma course in Primary Teacher Education. Another lot of 28 students are taking diploma in Early Childhood education.

As at now the college is also anticipating admitting 500 students in September 2024. POSITIVES: In terms of the positives emanating from the establishment of the college at Bar Kanyango, some of the highlights are; Economically the college has, Provided employment opportunity for the residents of the surrounding area in terms of auxiliary staff e.g. grounds men, kitchen staff etc. Business opportunity for the mama mbogas as they sell their different merchandise for subsistence. The local farmers have a market for their kales and cabbages and other fruits and shamba produce. Entrepreneurs in the real estate business now have tenants from among the college employees. The Bodaboda riders also cash in while ferrying people to and from the college. The land on which the college stands was actually a waterlogged area that was being put to marginal use (cattle grazing) but can now support diverse utilization that benefits the whole nation.

Of remarkable mentioning is the fact that despite great challenges and before ranking was abolished in institutional performance, the college managed to post sterling performance in the 2013 and 2014 PTE exams having been ranked in 1st position nationally for two consecutive years. At another level the college has performed well in co- curricular activities. This year the college took to the national ball games two teams to represent the region at the nationals where both teams came back with silver and the basketball team also had the MVP. This of course takes into recognition earlier exploits. The learners around have also benefitted by coming into contact with teacher trainees from different parts of Kenya hence improving their exposure.

NEGATIVES: On the flipside, the college has had to contend with a number of challenges: In pole position is the issue of infrastructure- At inception, some structures were put up 4 permanent hostels – each can accommodate 100 students, later another was added with a capacity of around 60. This are inadequate and therefore congestion is a problem. Since inception the administration block still remains a mabati structure where very important documents are kept and the Principal has to operate from it. The structure has had several flooding, the office being entirely filled with water and documents have been destroyed. As earlier mentioned, the land on which the college stands is in marshy area, andon the path of storm water drainage that frequently floods the college. This problem needs mitigation. The college still lacks a staff room from which members of staff can operate, no staff quarters even for the senior administration. What is there suffers from pest infestation. The college has a single storied tuition block that had 12 classrooms, however the need for room to implement e-learning has taken up 4 classrooms leaving only 8. With increased enrollment the college needs additional classrooms. On relocation the college lost some assets and for instance the vehicles that are there despite being old and expensive to maintain, some their documents are still with the university making it impossible to even dispose off. The Principal lacks a utility vehicle and is compelled to use what is available but definitely not appropriate. The college was relocated far from the main road and the road leading to it is extremely dusty during dry season and muddy during rainy season. Something needs to done to improve accessibility. The issue of water shortage has been a perennial problem and as activities pick up, the institution needs a permanent solution to the water problem. The college as well lacks a modern kitchen and dining hall that befits its stature and is proper for students.

FUTURE OUTLOOK: It is noteworthy to mention that courtesy of the NG- CDF through the efforts of the MP for the area, the college was granted a CDF funding of Ksh15 million and work is currently underway in constructing 10 classrooms. The Ministry of education in collaboration with its donor partners has also putting up a modern ICT lab to facilitate e-learning. A fiber optic connection would still give the institution better learning experiences. The college intends to do bore holes to address the issue of water shortage. With the emphasis on expansion of educational opportunities and global innovations, and the needs, we can with good educated guess say that training of teachers is yet to keep on growing, the journey is very much on and the destination very much upstream. It is also a pleasure and encouraging to note that the college is established amongst a people who have within their ranks a professional body peopled with an exceptional asset of educators engineers, doctors and other resourceful persons that is a repository of knowledgeable people who together can make Bondo TTC great.