By Felix Khanoba
The Federal Government has launched 50 locally authored textbooks to address the shortage of high-quality academic materials in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, presented the textbooks in Abuja on Tuesday, emphasizing the need for self-sufficiency in academic publishing. The initiative, spearheaded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) under the Higher Education Book Development Intervention Project, aims to reduce reliance on foreign textbooks and ease the pressure on foreign exchange.
According to Alausa, “Over time, Nigeria’s tertiary education institutions have become dependent on books published outside the country, with the attendant consequences of the pressure on the demand for foreign exchange.”
He highlighted that fostering local authorship would not only ensure the availability of relevant books but also preserve national pride and reduce the need for foreign currency.
“Scarcity of tertiary-level texts in Nigeria has reached a crisis proportion as evident not only in the quality of books available but also in the quantity of books produced locally,” he said.
Dr. Alausa stressed that the government, through TETFund, is prioritizing the publication of indigenous learning materials to support teaching, research, and national development while also improving the global ranking of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, reaffirmed the urgency of the initiative, stating that the shortage of high-quality academic books had reached a critical level in Nigeria.
“This crisis prompted the establishment of the TETFund Higher Education Book Development Project, a bold and visionary initiative aimed at addressing this significant gap,” Echono said.
He noted that TETFund’s Board of Trustees set up a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) in 2009 to oversee the project, bringing together academic experts from across Nigeria. The group includes representatives from academic unions such as ASUU, ASUP, and COEASU, as well as regulatory bodies like the NUC, NBTE, and NCCE.
Echono revealed that over 130 manuscripts had passed rigorous reviews and been published, with 50 of them now being publicly presented.
“For the records, the successes recorded initially were quite negligible, as only 14 books were published in 2014, and none thereafter. Following the reconstitution of the TAG committee upon my assumption in 2022, tremendous achievements were made, including the production and public presentation of 80 titles of TETFund-sponsored books in various subjects for tertiary educational institutions,” he said.
He added that in June 2024, the TAG committee reviewed 97 manuscripts, of which 50 have now been published and presented to the public.
Prof. Albert Abegunde, Chairman of TAG for TETFund on Academic Book Publication and Professional Journal Funding, emphasized that the initiative promotes literacy, preserves culture, and expands technological advancement in the country.
Similarly, Alhaji Aminu Masari, Chairman of the TETFund Board of Trustees, highlighted the agency’s role in funding critical interventions in tertiary education. He credited President Bola Tinubu’s administration for prioritizing the education sector.
