The Federal Government has approved a nationwide textbook ranking system for primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools, in a reform aimed at strengthening quality assurance and standardising instructional materials across the education sector.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, announced the policy in a statement on Monday, April 27, 2026, noting that it is intended to address the proliferation of textbooks in circulation and ensure greater consistency in classroom learning resources nationwide.
Under the new arrangement, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) will retain its statutory responsibility for approving textbooks but will now also implement a structured ranking framework to assess the quality and suitability of approved materials.
As part of the process, the NERDC will establish Standing Subject Committees comprising subject specialists who will review textbooks submitted by publishers.
The committees will evaluate the materials against defined academic and pedagogical standards before ranking them for adoption in schools.
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Alausa said the initiative is designed to reduce confusion arising from the large number of competing textbooks used for the same subjects, a situation he said has undermined standardization in teaching and learning.
He added that the ranking system will improve transparency in textbook selection, strengthen quality control, and align Nigeria’s instructional materials with global best practices.
According to him, only textbooks that are ranked under the new system will be approved for use in schools, while unranked materials will no longer be permitted in classrooms, regardless of prior approval.
The Federal Government said it will also engage teachers and other education stakeholders to ensure smooth implementation and compliance.
The policy is scheduled to take effect from the September 2026 academic session, following the establishment of the Standing Subject Committees and completion of the evaluation framework.