FG Cuts Textbook Assessment, Ranking Fees Ahead of New National School Policy

• Federal Government reduces textbook assessment fee from ₦2,000 to ₦1,500 per page, providing financial relief for publishers and authors preparing for the new national evaluation regime.

• Ranking fee slashed by 25 per cent, from ₦1 million to ₦750,000 per title, as part of efforts to encourage wider participation in the Federal Government’s textbook quality assurance programme.

• NERDC announces refunds for publishers who had already paid the old assessment rate, assuring stakeholders that modalities for reimbursement will be unveiled shortly.

• Mandatory National Textbook Ranking System begins in September 2026, with only assessed, approved, and nationally ranked textbooks permitted for use in Nigerian schools under sweeping education reforms.

  July 22 , () — The Federal Government has approved a downward review of fees for the assessment and ranking of textbooks, offering financial relief to publishers and authors as it prepares to implement the National Textbook Ranking System aimed at improving the quality of learning materials used in schools across the country.

The revised fees were announced in a statement personally signed by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Salisu Shehu, and made available to journalists on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to the Council, the assessment fee has been reduced from ₦2,000 to ₦1,500 per page, while the fee for ranking textbooks has been cut from ₦1 million to ₦750,000 per title.

NERDC said the revised charges take immediate effect and directed all publishers and authors submitting textbooks for assessment to make payments using the new rates.

The Council explained that the reduction followed the Federal Government’s decision to ease the financial burden on stakeholders in the publishing industry ahead of the commencement of the new textbook quality assurance framework.

In a further relief measure, NERDC disclosed that publishers who had already paid the previous assessment fee of ₦2,000 per page would be refunded the excess amount.

It stated that the procedure for processing the refunds would be communicated in due course and urged all stakeholders in the book industry to comply fully with the new directive.

Quality Assurance Reform for Nigerian Schools

The fee review comes ahead of the rollout of the Federal Government’s National Textbook Ranking System, one of the flagship reforms introduced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, to standardise instructional materials used in schools nationwide.

The policy, scheduled to take effect in September 2026, will make it compulsory for all textbooks used in Nigerian classrooms to undergo assessment, approval, and national ranking by NERDC before they can be recommended for teaching and learning.

Under the new regime, textbooks that fail to obtain a national ranking will no longer be permitted for use in schools, regardless of whether they had previously secured approval.

The Minister had explained that the initiative was designed to tackle the growing proliferation of textbooks of varying quality in the country’s education system and ensure that teachers and learners have access only to high-quality, curriculum-compliant instructional materials.

While reaffirming NERDC’s statutory responsibility to assess and approve textbooks for use in Nigerian schools, the Federal Government said approval alone would no longer qualify a book for classroom adoption.

Instead, every approved textbook will undergo a structured national evaluation conducted by expert committees comprising education specialists and subject professionals.

The evaluation process will assess textbooks against clearly defined benchmarks, including curriculum compliance, academic accuracy, pedagogical effectiveness, language quality, presentation, inclusiveness, durability, and overall suitability for learners at various educational levels.

Following the assessment, textbooks will be ranked to identify the best-performing titles for each subject and class level, enabling schools, teachers, and parents to make informed choices when selecting instructional materials.

Education stakeholders have described the policy as one of the most significant reforms of Nigeria’s textbook approval process in decades, saying it is expected to raise academic standards, strengthen quality assurance in the publishing industry, and improve learning outcomes across the country’s basic and secondary education system.

The Federal Government has maintained that the initiative forms part of broader efforts to reform Nigeria’s education sector by ensuring that only credible, high-quality, and curriculum-aligned textbooks are used in classrooms nationwide.