Favour Ishember, Abuja
The Federal Government has given the green light to a sweeping education reform championed by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.
Speaking in Abuja, Dr. Alausa unveiled the National Textbook Ranking System, NTRS, a policy he called a game-changer for how teaching materials are chosen and used in public schools nationwide. The plan takes effect in September 2026 and will apply to public primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools across Nigeria.
According to the Minister, the new framework is built around transparency, merit and quality. It ties directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and brings Nigeria’s book approval process in line with global standards. The goal, he said, is to ensure every pupil and student has access to trusted, curriculum-matched and high-quality learning resources.
Dr. Alausa noted that NTRS is expected to do four things at once: tighten how the curriculum is delivered, boost student performance, create fair access to good instructional materials, and wipe out poor-quality books that have flooded the market. He added that the reform is also meant to rebuild public trust in the country’s education system.
To drive the process, the Ministry has set up a National Textbook Ranking and Selection Committee. The panel will include representatives from key education bodies and subject-matter experts. It will work hand-in-hand with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC. Only books that have already secured NERDC licensing will be considered, and from there the Committee will score and shortlist the top titles for final approval by the Minister of Education.
Under the new rules, having NERDC approval alone will no longer be enough for a book to enter classrooms. Each licensed title must go through a full national assessment and ranking. To qualify, it must score at least 70 percent and meet strict benchmarks in academics, teaching method, production quality and overall assurance.
The Minister also capped choice to keep standards high. For each subject, only the top-performing books will make the final list, with between six and ten approved titles depending on curriculum needs.
In what Dr. Alausa described as relief for the publishing industry, NERDC has slashed its charges. The assessment fee drops from ₦2,000 to ₦1,500 per page. The ranking fee falls from ₦1 million to ₦750,000 per title. Publishers who paid the old rates will get refunds, and NERDC will announce how reimbursements will be handled.
From September 2026, only books that have passed the NTRS evaluation and ranking will be permitted in public schools nationwide. Once approved, a title will remain valid for at least three years to give schools stability and consistency in teaching.
Oversight will be handled by NERDC and other regulatory agencies. Schools, publishers and all stakeholders must comply. Dr. Alausa warned that using books not on the approved list will attract penalties, including blacklisting of erring authors, publishers and schools.
The Ministry restated the Federal Government’s commitment to equipping every Nigerian learner with world-class materials that raise teaching standards, improve results, and strengthen the education system as a whole.
