The Federal Government has approved a reduction in the fees charged for the assessment and ranking of textbooks, a move designed to ease financial pressure on publishers and authors ahead of the rollout of the National Textbook Ranking System.
The revised charges are expected to encourage greater participation in the textbook evaluation process before the new policy takes effect in September 2026.
The development was announced in a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Salisu Shehu, and released to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to NERDC, the cost of textbook assessment has been reduced from ₦2,000 to ₦1,500 per page, while the fee for ranking textbooks has been lowered from ₦1 million to ₦750,000 per title.
The Council directed publishers and authors submitting textbooks for assessment to begin making payments based on the newly approved rates with immediate effect.
NERDC also assured stakeholders that publishers who had already paid the previous assessment fee of ₦2,000 per pagewould receive refunds for the excess amount paid. The Council said details of the refund process would be communicated in due course.
The agency urged publishers, authors and other stakeholders in the book industry to comply fully with the revised payment structure.
The fee reduction comes ahead of the implementation of the Federal Government’s National Textbook Ranking System, an initiative introduced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, to improve the quality and standardisation of instructional materials used in Nigerian schools.
Under the policy, which takes effect from September 2026, only textbooks that have been assessed, approved and ranked by NERDC will be permitted for use in classrooms, while unranked textbooks will be prohibited.
The Minister of Education explained that the initiative is intended to tackle the growing number of textbooks in circulation and ensure that teachers and students have access only to learning materials that meet national curriculum standards and quality requirements.
He also clarified that while NERDC would continue to carry out its statutory responsibility of approving textbooks for use in Nigerian schools, approval alone would no longer qualify a textbook for classroom use.
Under the new framework, every approved textbook will undergo a structured national assessment and ranking process conducted by expert committees. The evaluation is expected to identify and recommend the most suitable, high-quality and curriculum-compliant textbooks for each subject and level of education across the country.
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