FG Slashes Textbook Assessment Fees, Mandates Refunds for Publishers following LightRay!, NPA Advocacy

ABUJA — The Federal Government has reversed course on a controversial hike in textbook assessment fees, slashing the charges and ordering refunds for publishers who already paid under the earlier rates.

The directive to the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC, comes weeks after industry stakeholders warned the new regime would raise the cost of school books and squeeze publishers already grappling with rising paper, printing and distribution costs.

Under the revised structure, NERDC is to implement the lower fees immediately and process refunds for publishers assessed at the previous rates.

The government said the adjustment is intended to ease financial pressure on publishers, boost participation in the textbook evaluation process, and keep learning materials affordable for schools, parents and students.

The reversal followed closed-door engagements between the Federal Ministry of Education and key players in the publishing value chain. Officials framed it as an effort to balance quality assurance in textbook approval with support for Nigeria’s education and publishing sectors.

It would be recalled that LightRay! Media Founder and Publisher, Lady Ejiro Umukoro, was at the forefront of the campaign against the non-implementation and rollout of the policy. She described the initial fee hike as insensitive and ill-timed in a country endowed with oil, gas and solid minerals — resources that, she argued, should make free basic education possible, not more expensive.

Lady Ejiro also called out what she termed opaque ranking systems and prohibitive assessment charges, noting that countries with far fewer natural resources provide free textbooks to students while Nigeria was moving in the opposite direction.

Her position drew support from the Nigerian Publishers Association, which warned at the time that the fees threatened to push textbook prices beyond the reach of average families and undermine access to quality education.

The latest directive signals a retreat by NERDC and the Ministry from that path, at least for now. For publishers, it removes an immediate cost barrier. For parents, it offers some relief ahead of the new school session.

Whether the revised fees hold — and whether refunds are paid promptly — will determine if the government’s pledge to keep education affordable translates from policy paper to classroom reality.

For LightRay! Media