The idea to start a Technical Institution in Northern Nigeria started as far back as 1951, which resulted into the establishment of Kaduna Technical Institute in 1956.
The establishment of Technical Institute, Kaduna was as a result of the acceptance by the British Government on the recommendation of the Higher Education Commission, which suggested the upgrading of Yaba Higher College to Technical Institute and proposed Technical Institutes in Kaduna and Enugu. The Northern Nigeria Executive Council at its meeting of 17th August, 1962, Conclusion No.1, re-designated the Technical Institute, Kaduna as the Polytechnic, Kaduna. It became Kaduna Polytechnic in 1968 by the Federal Government Decree No. 20 of 1968, which was revised in 1979 by Decree .No. 79.
In 1991, the institution was taken over by the Federal Government under Decree No. 40 of the same year. The institution was established with the objective of providing diverse instruction, training and research in technology, the sciences, commerce, the humanities and programmes of in-service instruction for members of the public service in Nigeria.
In 1968, it amalgamated two training centres, namely; the College of Science and Technology and Staff Development Centre, with Survey Unit joining later. These formed the nucleus of its four- college structure then.
Kaduna Polytechnic outside the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, is known to be the biggest higher institution in Nigeria.
For the avoidance of doubt, the comparism includes all other polytechnics, universities, colleges of education and other centres of higher educational pursuits in the country. It is also rated as the largest technical institution in Africa. It is a large institution in physical size and numerical strength of students and staff population and in the number of programmes it runs.
It is a polytechnic built on four campuses, each campus is as big as many higher institutions in the country.
