The Federal Government has approved a reduction in the fees charged for the assessment and ranking of textbooks as part of efforts to ease costs for publishers and authors before the rollout of the National Textbook Ranking System.
The decision was announced by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Salisu Shehu, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Under the revised charges, the 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 per textbook title. The new rates take immediate effect.
NERDC also said publishers who had already paid the previous assessment fee would be refunded the excess amount, adding that details of the refund process would be communicated in due course.
The Council urged publishers and authors to comply with the revised payment structure as preparations continue for the implementation of the Federal Government’s National Textbook Ranking System.
Beginning in September 2026, only textbooks that have been assessed, approved and ranked by NERDC will be authorised for use in Nigerian schools, while unranked books will no longer be permitted in classrooms.
The initiative, introduced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, is aimed at improving the quality of learning materials by ensuring that only curriculum-compliant and professionally evaluated textbooks are recommended for teaching across the country.
Under the policy, textbooks will undergo a comprehensive national evaluation by expert panels to determine the most suitable and highest-quality materials for each subject and level of education.
