Abuja: The Federal Government has introduced a National Textbook Ranking System for Primary, Junior, and Senior Secondary Schools nationwide as part of efforts to enhance quality assurance and standardization in the education sector. Dr. Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, disclosed this in a statement by Folasade Boriowo, Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Alausa stated that the initiative aims to address the proliferation of textbooks in schools and ensure that only high-quality, curriculum-compliant learning materials are approved for classroom use. Under the new system, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) will maintain its statutory responsibility for approving textbooks for Nigerian schools. However, textbooks will now undergo a structured national evaluation process with NERDC ranking to determine the most suitable and highest-quality options for each subject and level of education.
The minister further explained that NERDC will establish Standing Subject Committees comprising experts in relevant disciplines to conduct rigorous reviews of textbooks submitted by publishers. These committees will assess materials based on clearly defined academic and pedagogical standards before ranking and approving a limited number of textbooks for classroom use. This reform is expected to reduce the excessive number of textbooks currently in circulation, which often creates confusion for teachers, students, and parents.
‘The ranking system will introduce transparency, order, and quality assurance into the textbook approval process while aligning Nigeria’s education system with international best practices in instructional material standardization,’ Alausa said. He also mentioned that any textbook not ranked under the new system will no longer be permitted for use in Nigerian schools, irrespective of prior licensing status. The federal government plans to engage teachers and other stakeholders to ensure adequate awareness and compliance with the new policy framework.
Implementation of the new ranking system is set to begin from the September academic session following the establishment of the Standing Subject Committees and completion of the evaluation framework.