Nigeria’s Federal Government has introduced a National Textbook Ranking System for Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Schools nationwide as part of efforts to strengthen quality assurance and standardisation in the education sector, Nigerians’s Education Minister says.

Dr. Tunji Alausa in a statement by Folasade Boriowo, Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, on Monday, noted that the initiative would address the proliferation of textbooks in schools and ensure that only high-quality, curriculum-compliant learning materials were approved for classroom use.

The minister explained that under the new system, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) would retain its statutory responsibility for approving textbooks for Nigerian schools.

Under the new directive, Alausa stated that textbooks will now be subject to a structured national evaluation and ranked by the NERDC to identify the highest-quality options for every grade level.

To ensure a rigorous selection, the NERDC will form Standing Subject Committees of academic experts to review all submissions.

These committees will evaluate materials against strict pedagogical standards, ultimately ranking and approving only a select few for use in schools.

According to him, the reform is expected to reduce the excessive number of textbooks currently in circulation, which has often created confusion for teachers, students and parents.

“The ranking system will introduce transparency, order and quality assurance into the textbook approval process while aligning Nigeria’s education system with international best practices in instructional material standardisation,” he said.

Alausa added that any textbook not ranked under the new system would no longer be permitted for use in Nigerian schools, regardless of prior licensing status.

The federal government however, plans to collaborate with teachers and key stakeholders to foster awareness and ensure full compliance with the new policy.

Implementation is set to begin with the September academic session, contingent upon the formation of the Standing Subject Committees and the finalisation of the evaluation framework.