Every government policy is expected to solve a problem. The best policies strengthen institutions, promote fairness, encourage investment, and create growth opportunities. However, when a policy unintentionally concentrates opportunities in the hands of a few, it risks weakening the very industry it seeks to improve.
This is the central concern raised by the Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) regarding the Federal Government’s proposed ranking system for approved school textbooks.
While the objective of improving educational standards is commendable, the Association believes that introducing a ranking system into textbook approval may produce consequences that extend far beyond the classroom, affecting businesses, jobs, investments, competition, and ultimately the sustainability of Nigeria’s educational publishing industry.
At the heart of the debate lies a critical question:
Should educational policy create a marketplace where only a handful of publishers thrive while others struggle to survive?
From Quality Assurance to Market Elimination?
Nigeria’s educational publishing sector is one of the country’s most knowledge-intensive industries. Behind every approved textbook lies years of investment in research, writing, curriculum development, editing, design, illustration, printing, and quality assurance.
Publishers commit significant financial and human resources long before a book reaches the evaluation stage.
For decades, the existing textbook evaluation process has focused on one fundamental objective: determining whether a book meets the required educational standards.
A ranking system changes that philosophy.
Instead of simply asking whether a textbook satisfies curriculum requirements, the process begins by comparing approved books against one another, assigning positions that may ultimately influence purchasing decisions by schools, governments, and educational institutions.
The concern expressed by the NPA is that this transforms a quality assurance exercise into a competitive hierarchy where perception could become more influential than educational merit.
When Ranking Creates Winners—and Losers
Unlike examinations where students are expected to be ranked, educational publishing serves a much broader national purpose.
Every textbook that successfully passes professional evaluation has demonstrated compliance with curriculum expectations and quality benchmarks. Ranking these approved books may unintentionally suggest that only those placed at the very top deserve widespread adoption.
In practical terms, schools and procurement agencies may naturally gravitate toward the highest-ranked titles, regardless of the quality of other approved books.
Over time, this could create a “winner-takes-all” market in which only a small number of publishers dominate textbook adoption while others experience declining sales despite producing books that fully meet national standards.
Competition is healthy.
Market exclusion is not.
A vibrant publishing industry depends on diversity of ideas, multiple contributors, and fair opportunities for every qualified publisher.
The Risk of Bias and Subjectivity
One of the strongest reservations expressed by the NPA concerns the possibility that ranking introduces greater subjectivity into what has traditionally been an objective approval process.
Evaluation asks a straightforward question:
Does this textbook meet the required standard?
Ranking asks a much more complex question:
Which approved textbook deserves to be placed above another?
That distinction matters.
Once numerical positions are assigned, stakeholders naturally begin questioning the criteria behind those rankings.
Why did one publisher place first?
Why another fifth?
What distinguishes the seventh-ranked book from the eighth?
Even where evaluators act professionally and independently, the perception of bias can quickly emerge whenever comparative judgments replace objective standards.
In public policy, perception is often as important as reality.
For an industry built on trust, transparency remains indispensable.
The Human Cost Behind Publishing
Publishing is far more than printing books.
It supports a vast value chain comprising authors, editors, curriculum specialists, illustrators, graphic designers, printers, proofreaders, logistics providers, marketers, distributors, booksellers, warehouse operators, educational consultants, and administrative professionals.
Every publishing company represents livelihoods.
Every textbook supports dozens, sometimes hundreds, of jobs directly and indirectly.
Should a ranking system significantly reduce market opportunities for many publishers, the consequences would extend beyond company balance sheets.
Reduced sales often lead to reduced production.
Reduced production may lead to downsizing.
Downsizing inevitably affects families, communities, and the broader economy.
For a country actively pursuing job creation, industrial growth, and private-sector investment, any policy capable of shrinking an entire industry deserves scrutiny.
Protecting Investment in Knowledge
Educational publishing requires patience, expertise, and long-term investment.
Developing a curriculum-compliant textbook is neither inexpensive nor immediate. Publishers invest millions of naira in commissioning manuscripts, conducting editorial reviews, engaging subject specialists, securing copyrights, producing illustrations, printing, and distributing educational materials across Nigeria.
These investments are made with the expectation that every publisher meeting national standards will compete fairly in the marketplace.
If only a small group of publishers consistently emerge as the preferred providers because of official rankings, confidence in future investment could decline.
Investors naturally seek industries where competition is predictable, transparent, and equitable.
Policies that appear to narrow participation may discourage innovation and reduce future investment in educational content development.
Strengthening Confidence Without Dividing the Industry
The NPA has consistently maintained that improving educational quality should remain the priority.
However, the Association argues that this objective can be achieved without introducing a ranking system that risks creating unnecessary divisions within the publishing ecosystem.
Rather than ranking approved textbooks, policymakers could focus on strengthening the existing evaluation framework through:
- Greater transparency in assessment processes.
- Continuous training for independent evaluators.
- Digital evaluation platforms that improve efficiency.
- Regular review of assessment criteria to reflect curriculum updates.
- Faster feedback mechanisms for publishers.
- Enhanced quality assurance and monitoring after textbook approval.
Such reforms preserve fairness while encouraging continuous improvement across the industry.
Education Policy Must Also Be Economic Policy
Education does not operate in isolation.
Every decision affecting textbook development also affects manufacturing, printing, logistics, retail, employment, taxation, and national investment.
A policy that unintentionally weakens one segment of this ecosystem may ultimately undermine broader national economic objectives.
The NPA’s concern therefore extends beyond publishing.
It is a call for policymakers to fully assess the economic implications of introducing a ranking system before implementation.
In education, excellence should be measured by the quality of learning, not by the concentration of opportunity.
The Way Forward
Nigeria’s educational publishing industry has grown through collaboration between government, regulators, publishers, authors, educators, and curriculum experts.
As conversations around textbook reform continue, stakeholders have an opportunity to strengthen the system without creating unnecessary winners and losers.
A transparent evaluation process that ensures every approved textbook meets rigorous national standards remains one of the strongest foundations for quality education.
After all, the ultimate objective is not to crown a handful of publishing champions.
It is to ensure that every Nigerian learner has access to high-quality textbooks, while preserving a publishing industry capable of sustaining innovation, investment, employment, and educational excellence for generations to come.
