Education reforms usually kick off with people pointing fingers. But griping doesn’t usually fix anything. Real, lasting change only happens when we sit down and have real conversations, roll up our sleeves with practical ideas, and genuinely commit to helping students learn better.
The ranking system threatens to create a ‘winner takes all’ environment that could force smaller publishers out of business; publishers reject textbook ranking policy, faults #2000 per page.
The association definitely has reservations about what a textbook ranking system might mean for the industry. However, they did not just criticize the idea. Instead, they offered a smart, practical plan to help improve the educational sector without disrupting it.
The underlying message was simple: Nigeria deserves a textbook evaluation system that rewards quality without creating unnecessary winners and losers.
Moving the Conversation Beyond Rankings
No one disputes that Nigerian schools deserve high-quality learning materials. Publishers, educators, government agencies, authors, and parents all share that common objective.
The question is not whether textbooks should be evaluated.
The real question is how they should be evaluated.
According to the NPA, a ranking system that places books in first, second, third, or subsequent positions shifts the focus from educational quality to competitive positioning. Such an approach could unintentionally narrow choices available to schools, discourage investment by publishers, and reduce healthy competition within the industry.
Rather than pitting publishers against one another in a subjective ranking system, the association proposes an objective model. In this framework, each textbook would be assessed solely on its compliance with clearly defined national benchmarks.
If you reach the required standard, you get approved – a process already widely used by quality control systems everywhere.
Simple.
Transparent.
Fair.
A Call for Collaborative Reform
The Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) strongly urges the federal Ministry of Education and its departments to take a step back and deeply evaluate the fundamental problems facing Nigeria’s education sector.
Textbooks represent only one component of educational success.
Student success relies on a holistic approach. It is driven by the quality of instruction, how well curricula are taught, and the condition of our school infrastructure. To move the needle on learning, we must also address digital access, fair funding, smart assessment methods, and continuous professional development for educators.
To solve these issues for good, the Association suggests that policymakers sit down with everyone involved, including teachers, authors, school owners, and publishers, to build shared solutions.
Educational policy is most effective when it is created with stakeholders rather than merely for them.
Collaboration not only builds trust; it often produces better policy.
Standards That Inspire Excellence
Perhaps the most practical proposal presented by the NPA is also the simplest.
Let’s move away from giving textbooks a numerical ranking. Instead, we should set clear, high-quality standards for all materials and make sure every school follows them.
Publishers whose books satisfy those benchmarks should receive official approval without being placed above or below competing titles.
Such a framework encourages every publisher to pursue excellence because success depends on meeting objective standards instead of outperforming another publisher in a ranking exercise.
It also preserves one of education’s greatest strengths: choice.
Different schools have different teaching styles.
Different teachers have different classroom strategies.
Different learners respond differently to various presentation styles.
Multiple approved textbooks provide schools with the flexibility to select materials that best meet their unique educational needs while maintaining nationally accepted quality standards.
A Better Way to Recommend Quality
The Association also proposed what many industry observers consider a practical compromise.
Rather than issuing ranked lists, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) could publish an official statement such as:
“The following books have successfully undergone rigorous evaluation and assessment, meet the prescribed standards, align with the national curriculum, and are therefore recommended for use in Nigerian schools.”
The accompanying publication would simply include:
- Subject
- Book title
- Publisher
- Author(s)
This approach achieves several important objectives simultaneously.
It assures schools that every listed textbook has passed a robust evaluation process.
It protects fairness among qualified publishers.
It encourages innovation by allowing multiple excellent books to coexist.
It preserves healthy competition.
Most importantly, it empowers teachers and schools to make informed choices based on their learners’ specific needs rather than numerical rankings.
Quality, after all, should be the qualification, not the position on a list.
Protecting an Industry That Supports Education
Nigeria’s publishing industry represents decades of intellectual investment.
Behind every approved textbook are teams of authors, editors, illustrators, curriculum specialists, designers, printers, marketers, booksellers, and distributors working together to produce learning resources that shape future generations.
A regulatory framework should encourage continued investment in educational publishing while raising standards across the industry.
Policies perceived as limiting market participation could discourage innovation and reduce the diversity of educational resources available to Nigerian learners.
Conversely, policies built on transparency, fairness, and measurable standards create an environment where publishers compete to improve quality rather than merely compete for rankings.
The ultimate beneficiaries are students.
Encouraging Signs of Dialogue
One encouraging outcome of the discussions was the assurance reportedly received from the NERDC team that adjustments would be considered to address some of the genuine concerns raised by the Nigerian Publishers Association.
This demonstrates an important principle of good governance.
Strong institutions are not defined by rigid positions but by their willingness to listen, engage, and refine policies in the public interest.
Constructive dialogue between regulators and industry stakeholders is often the foundation of lasting educational reform.
The Way Forward
Nigeria’s educational future deserves policies that unite rather than divide stakeholders.
Quality assurance is essential.
Accountability is indispensable.
Transparency is non-negotiable.
But these goals need not come at the expense of fairness, innovation, or healthy competition.
A standards-based approval system offers a balanced path forward, one that recognizes excellence wherever it exists, encourages continuous improvement across the publishing industry, and gives schools confidence that every approved textbook has earned its place through rigorous evaluation.
As the conversation continues, the opportunity before policymakers is clear: build a textbook evaluation framework that not only assures quality but also strengthens Nigeria’s educational ecosystem for generations to come.
Because in education, the true measure of success is not who ranks first, but whether every Nigerian child has access to quality learning resources that inspire knowledge, creativity, and lifelong learning.
