Bugaje gave the commendation during a courtesy visit by officials of the Katsina Youth Craft Village to the NBTE headquarters in Kaduna, where the delegation presented the Hausa-translated learning materials covering several vocational trade areas.
He described the initiative as a major milestone that would broaden access to technical and vocational education, particularly for people in rural communities.
According to him, the project reflects the Katsina State Government’s commitment to strengthening skills acquisition and human capital development under Governor Dikko Radda.
“Katsina Youth Craft Village is doing very well. This administration has injected substantial funding, renewed interest and strong support, making these remarkable achievements possible,” Bugaje said.
The NBTE boss also praised the state government’s investment of over ₦5 billion in revitalising the Katsina Youth Craft Village, noting that the intervention had transformed the institution into one of Nigeria’s leading centres for technical and vocational training.
Earlier, the State Coordinator of the Katsina Youth Craft Village, Kabir Kofar Soro, said the translation project was designed to make vocational education more accessible to Hausa-speaking communities, especially in rural areas.
“Our people, especially those in rural communities, are often left behind in skills education. Translating these materials into Hausa will make the knowledge easier to understand and apply,” he said.
Kabir disclosed that the centre currently offers training in 14 vocational trades and would graduate 1,662 trainees next month, nearly three times the 600 graduates produced during its previous graduation.
He added that between 80 and 85 per cent of the institution’s graduates were already engaged in businesses related to the skills they acquired.
Bugaje urged the Katsina State Government to seek national adoption of the Hausa manuals and recommended translating some of the materials into Ajami script to make technical education accessible to Almajiri pupils.
He also encouraged the institution to expand its training programmes to prepare artisans for major infrastructure projects, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline, the proposed Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline and the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.
The NBTE Executive Secretary reaffirmed the board’s support for the initiative and expressed readiness to participate in the Katsina Youth Craft Village’s forthcoming graduation ceremony.
