Scarcity of quality textbooks has been a long-standing challenge in Nigeria’s education sector. Many students and educators have had to rely on imported textbooks, which often fail to address local contexts and perspectives. This has resulted in a disconnect between the educational materials and the real-world experiences of Nigerian students for decades.
 
To address this situation, the Federal Government has unveiled an additional 50 locally-authored academic textbooks through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
 
The public presentation of the books in Abuja was attended by key stakeholders in the education sector, including the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa; Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono; Chairman, TETFund Board of Trustees, Aminu Bello Masari and National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Emmanuel Osodeke.
 
The programme, which was part of TETFund’s Higher Education Book Development Project, also witnessed representatives from the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP), Universal Education Commission (UBEC), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), among several others.
 
Unveiling the books, the minister emphasised the importance of supporting local authorship and reducing reliance on foreign textbooks, which put pressure on the demand for foreign exchange.
 
Alausa also expressed worries that the quality of most academic publications in the country had left much to be desired. He said that nurturing the culture of quality authorship and production of indigenous books would not only ensure availability of relevant books but would also safeguard national pride and reduce demand for foreign exchange.
  
“Scarcity of tertiary-level texts in Nigeria has reached a crisis proportion as evident not only in the quality of books available but also in the quantity of books produced locally. The need to tackle this crisis head-on resulted in the establishment of TETFund’s Higher Education Book Development Project.
 
“Teaching and research depend on relevant instructional materials such as published books and journals, monographs and other specialised reading materials as well as e-publishing of books and journals,” he said.
 
The minister said the Federal Government has been giving priority attention to publication through TETFund in a bid to provide adequate indigenous learning materials in tertiary institutions.
 
“In order to ensure successful implementation of the Higher Education Book Development Project, the Board of Trustees of TETFund in the year 2009, set up the Technical Advisory Group (TAG), whose mandate included collaboratively working with the Fund in fine-tuning the Book Development Blue Print Document into Strategic Working Document that clearly spells out the administrative procedures, frameworks and guidelines for effective TETFund Higher Education Book Development Intervention Funds in Tertiary Education Institutions in the country and reviewing the document(s) whenever the need arises.
 
“TETFund Book Development Fund intervenes in the three key areas of publication of academic books and the conversion of high-quality theses into books, support for Professional Association Journals and establishment and sustainability of Academic Publishing Centres (APCs).
 
“Teaching and research depend on relevant instructional materials such as published books and journals, monographs and other specialised reading materials as well as e-publishing of books and journals. Government is giving attention to publication through TETFund in a bid to provide adequate indigenous learning materials in our Tertiary Educational Institutions for national development and improve the global ranking of Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions,” he said.
 
The 50 textbooks cover a wide range of subjects, including medicine, law, engineering, agriculture, economics, education and security studies. They were authored by Nigerian academics and underwent rigorous review processes before publication. The project has already achieved significant milestones, with over 130 manuscripts published and more underway.
 
In his remarks, Echono announced that another 60 books are scheduled for unveiling before the end of 2025.
   
According to him, the initiative is expected to have a positive impact on Nigeria’s tertiary education sector, promoting literacy, preserving cultural heritage and supporting technological advancement.
 
He noted that shortage of resource material had affected the quality of education in the country.
 
The TETFund boss said that by supporting local authors and publishers, the Fund seeks to promote the development of educational materials that are not only academically impactful but also contextually relevant to Nigeria’s unique socio-cultural and economic environment.
 
“This crisis prompted the establishment of TETFund Higher Education Book Development Project, a bold and visionary initiative aimed at addressing this significant gap. To ensure that this initiative was effectively implemented, the Board of Trustees of TETFund took a crucial step in 2009 by setting up the Technical Advisory Group (TAG).
  
“Members of TAG consist of academic experts drawn from the six geopolitical zones, representatives of academic unions (ASUU, ASUP, and COAESU), as well as representatives of three Regulatory Bodies (NUC, NBTE, and NCC).
   
“Following the reconstitution of the Technical Advisory Group Committee upon my assumption of duty as Executive Secretary in 2022, tremendous achievements were made, including the production and public presentation of 80 titles of TETFund-sponsored books in various subjects for tertiary educational institutions,” Echono said. 
 
He noted that the TAG Committee was reconstituted in June 2024, and based on the fresh target set, a total of 97 manuscripts were reviewed, scrutinised and recommended for publication.
 
“Out of these, 50 manuscripts have been published. Another 60 books are scheduled for unveiling before the end of 2025. It is important to also note that in our efforts to ensure value for money, authors will now receive monetary compensation based on the number of pages in their books instead of 1,000 copies of their books being given to them,” he added.