The Federal Government has introduced a restructured educational policy that will allow the use of reusable and durable textbooks in schools across Nigeria as part of the fight to reduce education costs and improve learning quality across the federation.
The policy was unveiled in Abuja on Friday by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, alongside the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suiwaba Sai’d.
According to Dr. Maruf, the minister of Education, the policy is aimed at easing the financial pressure on parents, promoting sustainability, and improving the standard of instructional materials used in classrooms nationwide.
Under the new framework, schools have been mandated to adopt standardised textbooks that are built to last between four and six years. The policy which also bans the practice of attaching disposable workbooks to textbooks, a system that often forces parents to buy new books every academic session was also adopted at the session.
In another development, a uniform academic calendar has been approved to bring consistency to teaching activities, learning periods, and school planning across the country.
In addition, graduation ceremonies have been restricted to only pupils and students completing Primary 6, Junior Secondary School 3, and Senior Secondary School 3. “The move is intended to stop excessive spending on frequent graduation events”, the minister added.
The Dr. Maruf Alausa explained that the policy was developed in counter response to long-standing complaints from parents and guardians about frequent textbook changes that offered little improvement in content but forced parents to keep buying new editions.
Going forward, textbook revisions must show clear improvements in learning content rather than minor changes in design or page arrangement.
This step is expected to raise quality, reduce overcrowding in the textbook market, and make book selection easier for schools, in line with practices seen in other countries.
