May 21, 2026
By Moshood Oshunfurewa
The Federal Government’s recent introduction of a National Textbook Ranking System has sparked fresh debate within Nigeria’s education sector. On the surface, the initiative appears commendable. Any policy aimed at improving the quality of textbooks in our schools deserves careful consideration and, where appropriate, support. However, while ranking textbooks may create the appearance of reform, it does not address the deeper and more urgent issue confronting our education system — the persistent failure to guarantee quality content.
This conversation became even more pressing following the emotional outcry of a Nigerian mother who recently exposed troubling content in a textbook being used in a school. Her distress was not merely about one offensive publication; it reflected a wider systemic failure. That textbook had an ISBN number, passed through the National Library, navigated several layers of educational bureaucracy, was printed, distributed, and eventually adopted by schools. At every stage where scrutiny should have occurred, the system failed.
This raises a fundamental question: if existing quality-assurance structures could not prevent unacceptable content from reaching classrooms, how will ranking textbooks solve the problem?
