Publishers and authors to pay reduced charges as only government-approved and ranked textbooks will be allowed in Nigerian classrooms from September 2026.
The Federal Government has approved a reduction in fees for the assessment and ranking of textbooks as part of efforts to ease the financial burden on publishers and authors ahead of the implementation of the National Textbook Ranking System.
The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) announced the review in a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Salisu Shehu, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Under the new rates, the assessment fee has been reduced from ₦2,000 to ₦1,500 per page, while the fee for ranking textbooks has been cut from ₦1 million to ₦750,000 per title.
NERDC said the revised charges take immediate effect and urged publishers and authors submitting textbooks for assessment to comply with the new directive.
The Council also disclosed that publishers who had already paid the previous assessment fee of ₦2,000 per page would receive refunds of the excess payments, adding that details of the refund process would be announced in due course.
The fee reduction comes ahead of the commencement of the Federal Government’s National Textbook Ranking System, introduced by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, to standardise learning materials used in Nigerian schools.
Beginning in September 2026, only textbooks that have been assessed, approved and ranked by NERDC will be permitted for use in classrooms nationwide, while unranked textbooks will be prohibited.
The Federal Government said the initiative is aimed at tackling the proliferation of substandard learning materials and ensuring that students and teachers have access to high-quality, curriculum-compliant textbooks.
Under the new policy, textbooks approved by NERDC will undergo a structured national evaluation and ranking process conducted by expert committees to determine the most suitable instructional materials for each subject and level of education.