SPECIAL REPORT
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ABUJA — A sweeping reform of basic and secondary education learning materials has sparked intense public debate as the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) prepares to implement a new National Textbook Ranking Policy. The policy, designed to take effect for the September 2026 academic session, mandates that only six to ten top-ranked titles per subject will be approved for nationwide classroom use across public and private schools.
The overhaul requires all educational publishers—including those with previously licensed titles—to resubmit their instructional materials for a rigorous re-assessment and ranking process. However, the appointment of NERDC Executive Secretary Prof. Salisu Shehu has drawn heightened scrutiny from civil society groups and educational watchdogs due to his extensive academic background as a leading scholar advocating the “Islamization of Knowledge” framework.
In past academic treatises, Prof. Shehu defined the integration of religious philosophy into modern academic curricula as an “intellectual exercise” aimed at reforming secular institutional paradigms. While preliminary evaluations of history and general science subjects show no evidence of changes to the secular national syllabus, public interest advocates express concern over whether personal academic philosophies could influence the selection criteria used by textbook review panels.
Under the revised framework, NERDC is evaluating learning materials across primary and secondary levels in three distinct phases. Phase 1 focuses on foundational and entry grades, including Primary 1, Primary 4, Junior Secondary School 1, and Senior Secondary School 1. Standing Subject Committees composed of academic experts are responsible for scoring and ranking each submission against national standards.
In response to the upcoming selection deadline, education stakeholders, parents, and civic groups are demanding full procedural transparency from the Federal Ministry of Education and NERDC. They are calling for the public disclosure of the submitted textbook titles, the detailed evaluation rubrics, the identities and affiliations of all review committee members, and the final breakdown of scores assigned to each approved text before selections are locked in for a minimum three-year cycle.
