By Ngozi Nwankwo
Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council,NERDC,has called on publishers and other stakeholders in the book industry to submit textbooks and instructional materials for the 2026 Phase 1 assessment, reassessment and ranking exercise.
The call follows a new policy introduced by the Federal Ministry of Education,FME,aimed at strengthening and streamlining the textbook selection and approval process in schools across the country.
In a public notice signed by the Executive Secretary of NERDC, Prof. Salisu Shehu, stakeholders including publishers, authors, printers, distributors and other operators in the book sector were urged to comply with the revised guidelines and requirements outlined in the Book Quality Guidelines and Submission Procedure available on NERDC’s website.
According to the council, the 2026 assessment and ranking exercise will be conducted in three phases. Phase 1 will cover Primary 1, Primary 4, Junior Secondary School,JSS, 1 and Senior Secondary School,SS, 1 textbooks; Phase 2 will cover Primary 2, Primary 5, JSS 2 and SS 2; while Phase 3 will focus on Primary 3, Primary 6, JSS 3 and SS 3.
NERDC stated that all textbooks, including those previously assessed for the specified class levels, must be resubmitted for assessment or reassessment in line with the new policy, which has introduced a ranking component into the approval process.
The council explained that textbooks intended for ranking would first undergo assessment based on updated standards, procedures and newly approved benchmarks.
Submission for Phase 1 textbooks and instructional resources will commence on June 8 and close on June 19, 2026.
The exercise covers materials developed for Primary 1, Primary 4, JSS 1 and SS 1 under the new curriculum implementation framework.
NERDC warned that submissions received after the deadline would not be considered for assessment and ranking during the phase.
It also noted that payment for assessment and ranking would follow the newly approved procedure detailed in the Book Quality Guidelines and Submission Procedure.
The council disclosed that the assessment and ranking of all submitted textbooks and instructional resources for Phase 1 would be completed by July 31, 2026.
