The Federal Government has inaugurated a Book Ranking and Selection Committee aimed at improving the quality, standardisation, and affordability of textbooks used in Nigerian schools.
The initiative seeks to reform the existing textbook approval process, which authorities say has allowed poor-quality materials, lack of standard benchmarks, and excessive financial burden on parents to persist.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said the current system failed to properly validate and rank textbooks before approval, leading to situations where some subjects had as many as 50 approved textbooks without clear quality distinctions.
According to him, the absence of a structured ranking system meant that low-quality instructional materials were approved alongside books with higher pedagogical value. He also criticised publishers for bundling consumable workbooks with core textbooks, a practice he said forces parents to buy new books annually and places unnecessary financial pressure on families.
Dr. Alausa explained that the newly inaugurated committee would introduce reforms to cap the number of approved textbooks per subject, ensure transparent and objective ranking, and protect learners and parents from exploitative practices.
He said the committee is expected to review existing approval frameworks, recommend stronger assessment and ranking systems, define enforceable quality benchmarks, and propose mechanisms to ensure genuine content improvement before new editions are approved. The committee will also address pricing transparency, edition control, and the separation of durable textbooks from consumable materials.
Under the new framework, although regulatory agencies may approve more textbooks, only seven textbooks per subject will be officially ranked for selection by schools, particularly within the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) system. Once ranked, approved textbooks will remain in use for a minimum of three years, except where major curriculum or technological changes necessitate updates.
The committee will be chaired by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, with members drawn from key agencies including the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), UBEC, the National Teachers’ Institute, and the National Senior Secondary Education Commission.
In her remarks, Prof. Ahmad pledged the committee’s commitment to reforming the textbook approval process to ensure learners have access to high-quality instructional materials. The Executive Secretary of NERDC, Prof. Salisu Shehu, also noted that the initiative would end arbitrary textbook selection in schools and ensure that only the best materials are adopted nationwide.
