2026 NERDC Review: Adesanya-Davies Demands Transparency In Textbook Approval Process

Professor of Applied Linguistics and education advocate, Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, has called on the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to make the process of evaluating and approving textbooks for primary and secondary schools more transparent.

Adesanya-Davies made the call ahead of the 2026 textbook review cycle, urging NERDC and relevant education authorities to publish details of textbooks under consideration before final approval.

She said parents, teachers, academics and other education stakeholders have a right to know what instructional materials are being introduced to Nigerian children and the basis for their approval.

“Before Nigeria’s new textbooks are approved, publish the books being considered, their scores and rankings, the evaluation criteria, and the names and affiliations of the reviewers. Nigerian parents have a right to know what their children will be taught,” she said.

The professor said textbook selection should not be treated as an exclusively administrative process because textbooks directly influence what millions of Nigerian children learn, as well as their understanding of society and the values they develop.

She urged NERDC to consider making public, subject to privacy and procurement laws, the titles and publishers of submitted textbooks, subjects and classes covered, evaluation criteria, scores, rankings and the reasons for approval, conditional approval or rejection.

She also called for disclosure of reviewers’ qualifications and professional affiliations where legally permissible, as well as any conflicts of interest involving evaluators, publishers or authors.

According to her, greater openness would improve public confidence in the education system and reduce suspicion surrounding textbook selection.

Adesanya-Davies stressed that the quality of textbooks is closely linked to the quality of education, warning that poorly written, outdated, inaccurate or culturally insensitive materials could undermine the implementation of the national curriculum.

She said textbook evaluation should take into account factors including factual accuracy, curriculum alignment, language quality, age appropriateness, inclusiveness, cultural sensitivity, illustrations, learning outcomes and pedagogical suitability.

The education advocate also argued that parents should be treated as key stakeholders in education rather than merely consumers of school materials.

She called for stronger mechanisms to enable teachers, parents, academics and other recognised stakeholders to provide feedback on textbooks already being used in schools.

On the independence of the evaluation process, Adesanya-Davies urged NERDC to strengthen safeguards against actual or perceived conflicts of interest.

She proposed that evaluators declare relevant interests and that independent experts in education, curriculum studies, subject disciplines, language, child development and pedagogy be involved where practicable.

She further called for the development of a publicly accessible National Textbook Evaluation and Approval Framework detailing how textbooks move from submission through evaluation and ranking to approval and classroom use.

“Transparency should not be viewed as an attack on NERDC or any government institution. Transparency is an instrument for strengthening public institutions,” she said.

Adesanya-Davies urged the Federal Government, Federal Ministry of Education, NERDC, state education authorities, school owners, teachers’ organisations and parents’ associations to work together to establish a textbook approval system that Nigerians can trust.

She maintained that Nigerian children deserve educational materials that are accurate, relevant and professionally evaluated, adding that the materials placed in their hands today would influence the kind of country they build in the future.