Kisumu Polytechnic is situated within the Lakeside City of Kisumu about 3 km east of the city center and is about 400 km from Nairobi city. Strategically placed within the Great Lakes Region, and fast emerging as a regional center for the East Africa Economic Union, Kisumu City has already emerged as an academic city with a range of newly established flourishing campuses for private and public universities.
The institution was started in 1967 as a technical secondary school. The first batch of students was admitted at Sigalagala Technical and Trade School while they awaited the completion of the school at the Kisumu present site. The then Minister for Education, Dr. Taita Towett officially opened the school in 1971.
In 1985, the institution became a Technical Training Institute. This was the time, when the philosophy of Education was to facilitate Social and Economic Development of Rural areas. The aim of this was to produce practical oriented human resource, competent in application of technical skills. This was the time when the 8.4.4. Curriculum of Education and training in Kenya was being implemented. Institutions at such levels were therefore required to cater for the needed technical skills.
In 1996, the institution was upgraded to a National Polytechnic status and was inaugurated on 21st June 1997 by His Excellency the President, Hon. Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi.
It is now twelve years since Kisumu Polytechnic was inaugurated as a National Polytechnic. It has, since then, achieved tremendous growth in terms of the number of courses and students enrolment to its current 108 Regular and Par-time Programmes at a student population of 3318. All these have come to pass because the Polytechnic has remained steadily focused on its mission.