Govt. College of Teacher Education, Thiruvananthapuram was established in 1895.

It has a remarkable history starting from the early years of 20th Century. This Mother Teacher Education Institution in Kerala, the second in the field of Teacher Education in Madras Province, next to Training College at Saidapet,  as a Normal School on the implementation of the recommendations of Hunter Commission Report of 1882 for improving the quality of education through improving Teacher Effectiveness.

The Normal School was elevated to the status of a Training College in 1911 as His Highness The Maharajas Training College and was affiliated to Madras University.

The college imparted training for both Graduate and Under Graduate Teachers of erstwhile Travancore.

Those who completed the teacher training course successfully were honoured with a Licentiate of Teaching (LT) degree.