The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) has announced a reduction in the fees charged for textbook assessment and ranking while directing that publishers who previously paid the old assessment rates be refunded.
The decision, which is expected to reduce financial pressure on publishers and authors, comes ahead of the implementation of the Federal Government’s National Textbook Ranking System scheduled to commence later this year.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja and personally signed by the Executive Secretary of NERDC, Prof. Salisu Shehu.
According to the statement, the Council approved a downward review of both assessment and ranking charges for textbooks submitted under the new evaluation framework.
Under the revised structure, the textbook assessment fee has been reduced from ₦2,000 to ₦1,500 per page, while the ranking fee has been cut from ₦1 million to ₦750,000 for each textbook title.
Prof. Shehu explained that the new rates take immediate effect and are intended to encourage greater participation by publishers and authors in the national textbook assessment programme.
He also disclosed that publishers who had already paid the former assessment fee would receive refunds covering the difference between the old and new rates.
“Publishers who had already paid the previous assessment fee of N2,000 per page will receive refunds of the excess payment, while the procedure for processing the refunds will be announced soon,” the statement read.
The Council further directed that all fresh submissions for textbook assessment should be made using the newly approved charges.
“Publishers and authors submitting textbooks for assessment are to make payments based on the revised rates with immediate effect,” it added.
NERDC urged stakeholders within the publishing industry, including authors and educational content developers, to comply fully with the revised fee structure.
The reduction comes as preparations intensify for the rollout of the Federal Government’s National Textbook Ranking System, one of the major reforms introduced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, to improve the quality of educational materials used across Nigerian schools.
Beginning in September 2026, only textbooks that have undergone assessment, received approval and obtained official rankings from NERDC will be eligible for use in classrooms nationwide.
Educational materials that fail to secure ranking under the new policy will no longer be approved for use in schools.
Speaking earlier when the initiative was unveiled, Alausa explained that the policy was designed to eliminate substandard textbooks from the education system while ensuring that teachers and students have access only to learning materials that meet national curriculum standards.
The minister noted that although NERDC has traditionally been responsible for approving textbooks, approval alone would no longer qualify a publication for classroom use.
Instead, every approved textbook will undergo a comprehensive national evaluation conducted by expert review panels before being assigned an official ranking and recommended for schools.
The National Textbook Ranking System forms part of broader education reforms being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Education under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Other initiatives introduced by the ministry include nationwide learning assessments, the restoration of abandoned electronic libraries in Unity Colleges, expansion of digital learning infrastructure and targeted interventions aimed at reducing learning poverty among Nigerian children.
Government officials estimate that approximately 42 million children across the country are currently affected by learning poverty.
The ministry believes the textbook ranking policy will strengthen quality assurance within the education sector, improve standards in educational publishing and ensure that only high-quality instructional materials are available to learners throughout the country.
