High charges by FG agencies to review educ materials worry publishers

The Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) has expressed concern over ‘exorbitant rates’ they pay before their books could be reviewed for use in schools by states’ ministries of education and some federal government agencies in charge of educational curricula.

The Executive Secretary of the association, Emmanuel Abimbola, in a statement quoted the president/chairman in council, Dr. Uchenna Cyril Anioke, as calling on the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, to intervene in the matter.

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He said book review exercise is a means of evaluating and assessing the quality and standard of the educational materials to be used by pupils and students of any state devoid of revenue generation, adding that members of the association had been paying hugely for the exercise.

The release stated that in the past, publishers paid lump sum for the exercise, but that has now graduated to charges per title running into millions of naira per exercise, per company in each state of the federation.

“In addition to this, is the submission of a huge number of books involved free of charge to MOE.

Sadly, adding huge review fees to the already precarious publishing business would compound publishers’ problems and affect the prices charged on books.

“This would also affect pupils and students’ accessibility to books and inhibit governments’ educational goals,” he said.