The Federal Government has taken a decisive step to reform Nigeria’s textbook approval system with the inauguration of a Book Ranking and Selection Committee, a move aimed at improving the quality, affordability, and transparency of instructional materials used in schools across the country.

The committee was inaugurated in Abuja by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who said the initiative would protect learners and parents from exploitative practices while raising educational standards nationwide. According to him, the new framework will introduce reforms that cap the number of approved textbooks per subject, ensure objective ranking, and eliminate long-standing inefficiencies in the system.

Chaired by the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, the committee draws its membership from key education agencies, including the National Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the National Teachers’ Institute, and the National Senior Secondary Education Commission.

Alausa explained that the committee was set up to address persistent weaknesses in the existing textbook approval process, which he said had allowed poor-quality materials, lack of standardisation, and excessive financial burdens on parents to continue unchecked. He noted that in some subjects, as many as 50 textbooks had been approved without clear benchmarks to differentiate quality, resulting in low-value materials being treated on the same level as superior instructional resources.

The minister also criticised publishers for the widespread practice of bundling workbooks and consumable materials with core textbooks, a trend he said forces parents to purchase new books every year and places unnecessary strain on household finances. He stressed that this must stop, insisting that durable textbooks should be separated from consumables to reduce costs and promote sustainability.

Addressing members of the committee, Alausa described their assignment as both timely and strategic, charging them to review existing approval frameworks, recommend stronger assessment and ranking instruments, define enforceable quality benchmarks, and ensure that genuine content improvements are made before new editions are approved. He added that pricing transparency, edition control, and consumer protection must be central to their recommendations.

While noting that regulatory agencies may continue to approve multiple textbooks, the minister clarified that only seven textbooks per subject would be officially ranked and recommended for selection by schools, particularly under the UBEC framework. He added that once selected, textbooks would remain in use for a minimum of three years, except in cases of major curriculum or technological changes.

Alausa further called on NERDC to actively publicise the reforms to reassure parents and stakeholders that the government is committed to ending arbitrary textbook selection and excessive costs in schools.

In her remarks, Prof. Ahmad assured that the committee would work diligently to reform the approval process and close existing gaps, ensuring that learners have access to high-quality and properly standardised textbooks. She observed that under the old system, books were approved once they met minimum standards, without any clear distinction between varying levels of quality.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of NERDC, Prof. Salisu Shehu, said the initiative would put an end to arbitrary book choices in schools and guarantee that only the best instructional materials are adopted nationwide. He confirmed that NERDC will serve as the secretariat for the committee’s work.

The inauguration of the Book Ranking and Selection Committee signals a major policy shift by the Federal Government, as it seeks to strengthen learning outcomes, ease financial pressure on parents, and restore confidence in the quality of textbooks used in Nigerian classrooms.