By Gabriel Ameh
ABUJA – The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has approved a reduction in the fees charged for the assessment and ranking of textbooks, a move aimed at easing the financial burden on publishers and authors ahead of the implementation of the Federal Government’s National Textbook Ranking System.
The decision was announced in a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of NERDC, Prof. Salisu Shehu, on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to the council, the assessment fee has been reduced from ₦2,000 to ₦1,500 per page, while the textbook ranking fee has been lowered from ₦1 million to ₦750,000 per title.
NERDC said the revised fees take immediate effect and apply to all publishers and authors submitting textbooks for assessment.
The council also disclosed that publishers who had already paid the previous assessment fee of ₦2,000 per page would receive refunds of the excess amount, adding that details of the refund process would be announced in due course.
It urged stakeholders in Nigeria’s publishing industry to comply with the new fee structure.
The fee reduction comes as the Federal Government prepares to launch the National Textbook Ranking System in September 2026, an initiative introduced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, to improve the quality of learning materials used in schools across the country.
Under the new policy, only textbooks that have been assessed, approved and ranked by NERDC will be eligible for use in Nigerian classrooms. Textbooks that fail to obtain a ranking will no longer be approved for classroom use.
According to the Minister, the reform is designed to address the growing number of textbooks in circulation while ensuring that learners and teachers have access to high-quality instructional materials that align with the national curriculum.
Although NERDC will continue to perform its statutory responsibility of approving textbooks, the council said approval alone will no longer be sufficient.
Instead, approved textbooks will undergo a comprehensive national evaluation and ranking process conducted by expert panels to identify the most suitable and curriculum-compliant textbooks for each subject and educational level.
