By Kwin Israel, The Sight News
The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has approved a reduction in the fees for textbook assessment and ranking as part of efforts to ease the financial burden on publishers and authors ahead of the implementation of the Federal Government’s National Textbook Ranking System.
The approval was announced in a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of NERDC, Prof. Salisu Shehu, and made available to journalists on Wednesday in Abuja.
Under the revised fee structure, the cost of textbook assessment has been reduced from ₦2,000 to ₦1,500 per page, while the fee for ranking textbooks has been reviewed downward from ₦1 million to ₦750,000 per title.
NERDC directed publishers and authors submitting textbooks for assessment to commence payment based on the new rates with immediate effect.
The Council also assured publishers who had already paid the previous assessment fee of ₦2,000 per page that they would be refunded the excess amount. It added that details of the refund process would be communicated in due course.
According to the statement, the revised fees take immediate effect, and all stakeholders in the book publishing industry are expected to comply with the new directive.
The fee review comes ahead of the commencement of the Federal Government’s National Textbook Ranking System, a landmark initiative introduced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, to improve the quality and standardisation of instructional materials used in Nigerian schools.
The policy, which is scheduled to take effect in September 2026, provides that only textbooks assessed, approved and ranked by NERDC will be eligible for use in classrooms nationwide. Textbooks that do not undergo the ranking process will no longer be permitted for use in schools.
The Minister has said the initiative is intended to address the proliferation of substandard and unregulated textbooks by ensuring that learners and teachers have access only to high-quality, curriculum-compliant learning materials.
While reaffirming NERDC’s statutory responsibility for approving textbooks for use in Nigerian schools, Dr. Alausa noted that approval alone would no longer be sufficient under the new policy.
Instead, every approved textbook will be subjected to a rigorous national evaluation and ranking process conducted by expert panels to identify the most suitable, accurate and high-quality instructional materials for each subject and level of education.
The National Textbook Ranking System is expected to enhance quality assurance in textbook production, promote excellence among publishers and improve learning outcomes across the country’s education sector.
