Call for broader stakeholders’ consultation
The Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) has appealed to the Federal Government to review its proposed textbooks ranking policy, emphasising the need for broader stakeholders’ consultation and transparency before the policy is implemented.

National President of NPA, Lukman Dauda, who made the appeal while addressing journalists in Lagos on issues of national importance relating to the book industry, education, publishing and the future of learning in Nigeria, said while the association supports reforms that will significantly improve quality, accountability and learning outcomes, the ranking aspect could introduce unintended consequences for the publishing industry and for access to textbooks across the country.

He recalled that the Federal Ministry of Education, through the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), announced the policy on April 27, as part of efforts to standardise textbook selection across the country.

According to Dauda, the policy was presented as a measure to improve learning outcomes by ensuring that only selected textbooks are adopted for use in schools.

Dauda said that the association studied the proposal and subsequently rejected it, raising objections to the ranking framework.

He noted that after the rejection, the NPA welcomed NERDC’s invitation for engagement, believing that meaningful consultation could address concerns raised by stakeholders and lead to a more balanced policy outcome.

The NPA President said publishers would be required to submit books for assessment after paying prescribed fees, while only submissions that meet the minimum threshold would proceed to a separate ranking stage, where books would be placed in order of preference.

He noted that implementation timelines had already been fixed before consultations with stakeholders concluded, raising concerns about whether contributions from publishers and other stakeholders would meaningfully influence the policy’s outcome.

He maintained that the existing textbook evaluation process conducted by NERDC has, over the years, provided an objective framework for assessing instructional materials, saying that the current system should be strengthened rather than replaced entirely.

Dauda, who disclosed that Nigeria has about 60 million students and more than 200 active educational publishers serving learners across public and private schools nationwide, warned that ranking textbooks could create market distortions by concentrating opportunities among a limited number of publishers at the expense of others.

He said such an outcome could discourage investment in educational publishing, reduce competition among firms, and negatively affect employment within the educational publishing sector and related industries.

The NPA President also noted that many publishing firms are still aligning learning materials with the newly introduced national curriculum, which was rolled out barely seven months ago.

He said adequate transition periods are required for implementation so that publishers can revise, develop and produce books that fully reflect the new curriculum content.

Dauda, therefore, urged the Federal Ministry of Education, NERDC, state governments, educators, school proprietors, parents and other stakeholders to sustain dialogue before implementing the policy.

He said inclusive consultation would help develop reforms that address quality concerns, while protecting the diversity, competitiveness and sustainability of Nigeria’s educational publishing industry.

Dauda further expressed concerns that limited implementation timelines combined with a ranking system could create shortages of textbooks if only a few publishers are expected to meet nationwide demand.

He said no small group of publishers could realistically produce and distribute sufficient quantities of books for 60 million students within a short period, and that such a situation would worsen access problems for schools, teachers and parents.

He also raised constitutional questions, noting that education falls within the Concurrent Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
This, he said, requires cooperation between the federal government and state governments on matters of education policy.

Dauda asked whether adequate consultation had been undertaken with state governments before the federal government moved to dictate textbook selection through a ranking system.

On affordability, Dauda questioned whether assessment and ranking charges to be paid by publishers could increase costs within the educational value chain and ultimately affect parents and students. He said any reform aimed at improving access and affordability should carefully examine policies capable of increasing costs across the educational ecosystem, from production to distribution to retail.

As an alternative to ranking, Dauda proposed maintaining rigorous evaluation standards, while approving all textbooks that successfully meet prescribed national curriculum requirements and benchmarks.

Dauda concluded by calling on the Federal Ministry of Education, NERDC, state governments, educators, school proprietors, parents and other stakeholders to sustain dialogue before implementing the policy.

He said inclusive consultation would help develop reforms that address quality concerns, while protecting the diversity, competitiveness and sustainability of Nigeria’s educational publishing industry.