The Federal Government has announced a 25 per cent reduction in Textbook Assessment Fees as preparations gather pace for the implementation of the National Textbook Ranking System, scheduled to commence in September 2026.
The development was announced on Wednesday by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), which said the decision is intended to ease financial pressure on publishers and authors while encouraging greater participation in the new national textbook evaluation programme.
In a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of NERDC, Prof. Salisu Shehu, the council disclosed that the assessment fee has been reduced from ₦2,000 to ₦1,500 per page, representing a 25 per cent cut. Similarly, the fee for textbook ranking has been reduced from ₦1 million to ₦750,000 per textbook title. According to NERDC, publishers and authors seeking textbook assessment and ranking should begin making payments using the revised rates with immediate effect.
The council also confirmed that publishers who had already paid the previous assessment charge of ₦2,000 per page would receive refunds for the excess amount paid. NERDC stated that further information on the refund process would be communicated to affected stakeholders in due course.
“The revised fees take immediate effect, and all stakeholders in the book industry are expected to comply accordingly,” the council said.
The reduction in Textbook Assessment Fees comes ahead of the Federal Government’s rollout of the National Textbook Ranking System, one of the flagship education reforms introduced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa.
Beginning in September 2026, only textbooks that have been assessed, approved and nationally ranked by NERDC will be authorised for use in Nigerian schools. Under the new framework, textbooks that fail to obtain a national ranking will no longer be approved for classroom instruction.
Education authorities said the initiative is designed to eliminate the circulation of substandard, duplicated and poor-quality textbooks while ensuring students and teachers have access to instructional materials that align with Nigeria’s national curriculum. NERDC explained that while it will continue performing its statutory responsibility of approving textbooks, approval alone will no longer qualify a publication for classroom use.
Instead, every approved textbook will undergo a comprehensive national evaluation conducted by expert panels. The evaluation process will consider several criteria, including: content quality, alignment with the national curriculum, pedagogical effectiveness, accuracy of information, overall suitability for classroom teaching.
Based on these assessments, each textbook will receive a national ranking.
According to the council, the ranking system will provide schools, teachers, parents and education administrators with a credible guide for selecting the most appropriate textbooks across different subjects and educational levels. NERDC added that reducing the Textbook Assessment Fees forms part of broader efforts to ensure a smooth transition to the new nationwide textbook quality assurance framework while encouraging wider participation from publishers and authors in the evaluation process.
