By Lilian Iwuji/Funmilayo Adeyemi
The Federal Government has inaugurated a committee on Book Ranking and Selection, to strengthen the quality and affordability of textbooks used in Nigerian schools.
The initiative is aimed at addressing gaps in the current textbook approval process, which has allowed poor-quality materials, lack of standardisation and excessive financial burden on parents, to thrive.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja on Monday, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said that the existing system had failed to adequately validate and rank textbooks before approval.
He said that this had led to a situation where some subjects had up to 50 approved books with no clear quality benchmarks.
He said that the absence of a robust ranking structure meant that instructional materials of minimal quality were approved alongside those of much higher pedagogical value.
The minister added that publishers had also bundled workbooks and consumables with core textbooks, forcing parents to buy new books every year and placing unnecessary financial pressure on families.
According to him, the new committee will institutionalise reforms that will cap the number of ranked textbooks per subject, ensure objective and transparent ranking, and protect learners and parents from exploitative practices.
“Your assignment is both timely and strategic.
“You are expected to critically review existing approval frameworks, recommend strengthened assessment instruments and ranking systems, define clear and enforceable quality benchmarks, and propose mechanisms that ensure genuine content improvement before new editions are approved.
“You are also expected to address issues of pricing transparency, edition control, separation of textbooks from consumable workbooks, and protection of learners and parents from unnecessary financial burdens,” he said.
He said that while regulatory agencies could approve more books, only seven would be officially ranked for selection by schools, especially for use under the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) framework.
The minister explained that once ranked and approved, textbooks would remain in use for a minimum of three years, except where significant material changes, such as major curriculum or technological shifts, required updates.
He noted that the committee would also address pricing, transparency, edition control and the separation of durable textbooks from consumable materials.
The minister urged the committee to be guided by professionalism, objectivity and the long-term interest of Nigerian learners, and called on NERDC to publicise the reforms to assure parents that government had listened to their concerns.
He said the committee would be chaired by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, while other members include heads of key education agencies, including NERDC, UBEC, the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), and the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC).
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the committee, Ahmad, pledged the committee’s commitment to reforming the textbook approval process to ensure Nigerian learners have access to high-quality learning materials.
“As long as a textbook meets the minimum standard, it is approved, without any benchmark to determine whether it is of grade A, B or C quality,” she said.
Also speaking, the NERDC Executive Secretary, Prof. Salisu Shehu, commended the federal government for the initiative, noting that it would end the arbitrary manner in which books were selected for use in schools and ensure that only the best instructional materials are adopted nationwide. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Sandra Umeh
