Education Ministry Agrees to Review Textbook Ranking Policy After Meeting With Publishers

The Federal Ministry of Education has agreed to review key aspects of its controversial textbook assessment and ranking policy following a high-level meeting with the Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) and the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC).

The June 26 engagement, held in Abuja, ended with the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, acknowledging concerns raised by publishers and pledging to revisit implementation timelines, assessment costs, and other operational issues before the policy is fully rolled out.

The meeting brought together officials of the Ministry, the Director-General of NERDC, Prof. Salisu Shehu, and leaders of the Nigerian Publishers Association, led by its President, Alhaji Lukman Dauda.

Transition Period Tops Publishers’ Demands

A major issue raised by the publishers was the need for a transition period to enable the production of textbooks that align with the new national curriculum.

According to the NPA, publishers only received the revised curriculum shortly before implementation deadlines, making it impossible to revise existing titles or produce new ones in time for the 2026/2027 academic session.

The association explained that textbook development, editing, printing and distribution require several months, adding that many publishers had already begun production under the previous curriculum before the changes were introduced.

Responding, the Minister acknowledged the concern and agreed that implementation timelines deserved further review.

NPA Seeks Representation on NERDC Board

The publishers also reminded the Ministry that the NPA is entitled by law to a seat on the NERDC Governing Board, a position that has remained vacant for some time.

The association argued that its representation would improve communication between regulators and industry stakeholders while strengthening policy implementation.

The Minister assured the delegation that the request would receive due consideration.

Policy Applies Only to Federal Schools

One of the major clarifications from the meeting was that the textbook ranking policy is intended primarily for Federal Government schools and federal procurement processes.

According to the Minister, state governments and private schools are not automatically required to adopt the ranking system, a clarification that addressed one of the publishers’ major concerns.

Cost and Implementation Concerns

Publishers also questioned the financial implications of the assessment process, particularly the N500 per-page evaluation fee, which they argued could cost individual publishers millions of naira across multiple subjects.

The NPA estimated that assessing textbooks across the 88 approved subjects could cost approximately N135 million, a figure it described as beyond the financial capacity of many publishers.

The Minister, however, explained that the assessment fees were designed to cover the work of multiple government agencies, subject specialists and practising teachers involved in the evaluation process.

She nevertheless promised to review the fee structure where necessary and noted that many primary school textbooks are considerably shorter than earlier estimates.

She also explained that safeguards had been built into the policy to prevent market monopolies by limiting the number of top-ranked titles any single publisher can secure.

Stakeholders Call for Wider Consultation

The meeting also highlighted the need for stronger collaboration between regulators and publishers before major education policies are implemented.

NPA leaders argued that many of the practical challenges currently being debated could have been resolved through earlier consultations with industry stakeholders responsible for producing the textbooks.

Officials acknowledged that while extensive benchmarking had been conducted using education models from Kenya and several other countries, publishers were not sufficiently involved during policy development.

The Ministry disclosed that textbook assessments would be conducted by a multi-agency panel comprising representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, NERDC, the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), the National Senior Education Commission (NSEC), and other regulatory bodies using a standardized assessment template.

NERDC Defends the Policy

Speaking during the meeting, NERDC Director-General, Prof. Salisu Shehu, defended the policy as a quality assurance measure aimed at improving learning outcomes.

He said the council had completed work on the revised basic education curriculum and had only released selected levels—including Primary One, Primary Four and Junior Secondary School One—to protect the integrity of the curriculum and curb piracy.

Shehu maintained that publishers had been informed about the proposed ranking framework and stressed that the policy was introduced in response to concerns over declining learning standards among Nigerian pupils.

Ministry Defends Quality Assurance Initiative

The Minister described the ranking exercise as part of the government’s transition from a knowledge-based curriculum to a competency-based education system.

She said reviews of several textbooks revealed errors ranging from spelling mistakes to incomplete learning materials, making quality assurance necessary before government procurement.

Under the proposed framework, only textbooks scoring at least 70 per cent during assessment will qualify for ranking for Federal Government adoption, although publishers remain free to market books that are not selected.

She also maintained that participation in the ranking exercise is voluntary but argued that stronger regulation is necessary to improve standards across the publishing industry.

Path Opened for Further Dialogue

Despite initial disagreements, both the Ministry and the Nigerian Publishers Association described the meeting as constructive.

With the Minister agreeing to review implementation timelines, assessment costs, policy scope and the issue of NPA’s representation on the NERDC Board, stakeholders expressed optimism that further consultations would produce a more practical framework ahead of the 2026/2027 academic session.

The engagement marks a significant step towards balancing government efforts to improve educational standards with the operational realities facing Nigeria’s publishing industry.