No, you are not imagining things. And no, the bookshop owner is not trying to send your child home just because he hates you.
If you are a Nigerian student reading this on a cracked phone screen at 2am, or a parent calculating how much is left in your account after school fees, I want you to take a deep breath. The textbook prices you are seeing this 2025/2026 academic session are not a prank. They are not a mistake. And unfortunately, they are not going away on their own.
Secondary school English, Literature, Mathematics, and Science textbooks are now retailing between N4,000 and N8,000 per copy depending on the subject and edition. If you have a child in primary school, the situation is even more brutal. A single set of textbooks for a Primary 1 pupil in a private school can cost as high as N40,500 in some institutions. For a parent with two or three children, we are talking about figures that rival rent.
But here is the part that will make you want to throw your phone at the wall. A 2025 survey by TechCabal focusing on private schools in Lagos revealed that textbook costs can add anywhere between N60,000 and N150,000 per academic term per child. Yes, per term. That money is sometimes equivalent to 15 to 20 per cent of the total school fees you are already sweating to pay.
So what exactly is going on? Why has the innocent act of buying a book for a child become a financial weapon of mass destruction? Sit tight. We are going to break it all down.
When "Back to School" Means "Back to Begging"
Let me paint a picture for you.
It is September 2025. Schools across the country have resumed for the new session. Parents who have been surviving on dried fish and garri for the past two months finally gather the courage to check the booklist their children brought home. What do they see? A list longer than a federal government white paper. Eighteen subjects. Twenty-two textbooks. Five separate workbooks. Two dictionaries. And a drawing book that costs more than a bag of rice.
Now, here is the sting. A single mother in Nasarawa State, Paulina Okede, a seamstress, recently withdrew her two children from a private school after the book and fee requirements totalled over N131,500 for just two children. She looked at the bill, looked at her sewing machine, and decided tailoring lessons for her kids might be the cheaper option.
This is happening all over the country. In public schools, where education is meant to be "free," the textbook-to-pupil ratio is still sitting at a miserable 1:4 in many places. That means four children huddling over one battered, dog-eared book because the government does not have enough to go around. In private schools, parents are forced to buy brand new copies every single term because the schools have cleverly merged textbooks with workbooks.
The result? Students are resuming classes without required textbooks. Some are being sent home. Others are dropping out temporarily, waiting for their parents to "save up" for a Maths textbook. Let that sink in. A child is being denied education because of paper and ink.
Evidence: Let the Numbers Do the Talking (Because Your Wallet is Already Crying)
We are Nigerians. We respect evidence. So here are the hard numbers from the 2025/2026 academic session.
Breakdown of Average Textbook Prices in Nigeria (2025/2026):
Primary School Textbooks: A single Primary 2 pupil may require textbooks and exercise books costing between N22,500 and N33,500 per term, depending on the school's curriculum. In some high-end private schools, the bill can exceed N40,000 for just one child.
Secondary School (JSS & SSS): Core subject textbooks like English, Maths, and Sciences sell for N4,000 to N8,000 per copy. A full set for a JSS 3 student can easily cost over N60,000 at the start of the term.
Impact on Households: A mother of three in Lagos told reporters she spent over N120,000 on books this term alone. Her crime? Having children who need to learn.
And before you think this is only a private school problem, consider this. The National Bureau of Statistics reported that Nigeria's inflation rate hit 21.88 per cent in July 2025. For publishers, producing a typical 150-page paperback in 2026 can cost over N1.5 million for a modest print run of 500 copies. That includes printing, design, and distribution. When production costs spike, who pays? You do.
The Ugly Truth: Why Your Naira is Crying
There is a reason why your child's booklist looks like a mortgage repayment schedule. Several reasons, actually. And some of them are very difficult to stomach.
The Single-Use Textbook Epidemic
This is the biggest culprit. Many private schools in Nigeria have adopted a model where textbooks are designed to be written in directly. The child solves problems inside the book. They colour, shade, underline, and fill blanks. By the end of the term, the textbook is a wreck. It cannot be passed down to a younger sibling. It cannot be reused by the next student. Dr. Peter Kudaisi, an educationist, summed it up perfectly when he said, "Once a child writes in a textbook, it becomes unusable the following year. Parents with multiple children are forced to buy fresh copies annually... That is exploitation".
Publishers Are Struggling (Yes, Really)
It is easy to blame the publishers. But here is the other side of the coin. The devaluation of the naira has made importing paper, ink, and printing equipment painfully expensive. Local paper mills have collapsed. So publishers are forced to buy foreign paper with foreign currency. On top of that, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) recently increased textbook assessment fees by a staggering 300 per cent – from N500 to N2,000 per page. Those fees are passed directly to you.
The Middleman Menace
You think you are buying directly from the publisher? Not likely. The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has admitted that middlemen, agents, and marketers are inflating the cost of books beyond the publisher's recommended selling price. Sometimes, without the author or publisher even knowing. So you are paying a "market woman tax" on top of everything else.
Teachers and School Owners Are Not Totally Innocent
Some school proprietors prohibit parents from purchasing textbooks from outside vendors, even when they are cheaper. They withhold the booklist until resumption day and insist that books must be bought from the school's designated shop. This practice guarantees profit for the school but leaves parents with no bargaining power whatsoever.
Breaking Down the "Why" Behind the Madness
Why does all this persist? Why has no one stopped it?
The answer lies in incentives. For private school owners and publishers, the single-use textbook model is a goldmine. It guarantees annual revenue. It forces parents to show up with money every single term. Why would a publisher invest in durable, multi-year textbooks when they can sell a disposable workbook every twelve months? From a purely business perspective, the incentive is skewed towards the short term.
For government regulators, the situation is complicated by the fact that education is on the concurrent legislative list. This means federal, state, and local governments all have a stake, which often leads to nobody taking full responsibility. The NERDC is supposed to regulate standards, but enforcement has been weak.
And let us be honest about the digital debate. Some people argue that we should just switch to tablets and digital textbooks to solve the problem. But here is a humbling fact: Sweden, a country with world-class internet and stable electricity, recently reversed its heavy investment in digital learning because children's reading comprehension dropped. Sweden is now spending over N180 billion to bring back printed textbooks. In Nigeria, where only 45 per cent of primary schools have electricity, handing out tablets without power or teacher training is just buying expensive paperweights.
Possible Solutions: Is There Light at the End of This Expensive Tunnel?
Here is the good news. People are fighting back. And some of the solutions are actually working.
1. The Reusable Textbook Policy (Federal Government, 2026)
In a move that surprised many, the Federal Government rolled out a policy in early 2026 enforcing the use of standardised, durable textbooks designed to last between four and six years. The policy also prohibits the bundling of disposable workbooks with textbooks. This means schools can no longer force you to buy a brand new set every year just because the workbook is attached. Siblings can now share books. And the government has introduced structured revision cycles, meaning publishers cannot just change the layout slightly and call it a "new edition" to force fresh purchases.
2. The State-Level Bans
Several states have taken matters into their own hands. Benue, Imo, Anambra, and Ondo states have banned the use of non-transferable, single-use textbooks. In Anambra, the state government explicitly banned students from writing assignments directly inside textbooks, calling the practice unsustainable.
3. The Bulk Purchase Proposal
NAPPS has called on the government to go beyond the reusable idea and revive bulk-purchase policies. The proposal is simple: the government should buy textbooks directly from publishers in bulk and redistribute them to both public and private schools at heavily subsidized rates or for free. If this happens, parents will breathe easier, and publishers will stay in business.
4. The Digital Workaround (For Students)
If you are a student reading this and the government is moving too slowly, you have options. Platforms like the Nigeria Learning Passport (supported by UNICEF) offer free access to an extensive library of learning resources aligned with the national curriculum. You can also explore Open Educational Resources (OER). Institutions like the University of Nigeria have OER repositories with free textbooks, lecture notes, and quizzes. The American University of Nigeria's LOAF (Library on a Flash) contains about 1,000 free e-books spanning 27 subject areas. All you need is data and a phone.
Counter-Arguments: The Other Side of the Coin
Before we pile all the blame on school owners and publishers, let us hear their side. It is only fair.
Many publishers argue that they are not making excessive profits. They say the high cost of imported paper, the collapse of local mills, and the 300 per cent increase in NERDC assessment fees have left them with no choice but to raise prices. Some publishers also argue that they prefer selling directly to schools to avoid piracy. Pirated copies are sold in open markets for cheap, but they are often of poor quality and deny authors their rightful earnings.
School proprietors also point out that some textbooks, especially at nursery and lower primary levels, are inherently consumable. Young children colour, shade, and trace inside their books. Those books cannot be reused by the next child regardless of how durable the paper is. The question then becomes: where do we draw the line between pedagogical necessity and financial exploitation?
These are valid points. But they do not excuse the practice of forcing parents to buy entirely new sets of books for subjects like Mathematics and English, where writing is minimal. The distinction matters.
What You Can Do Right Now (Practical Advice for Nigerian Families)
Theory is good. Action is better. Here is what you can do tomorrow morning to stop bleeding money on textbooks.
A numbered list of actionable steps:
Form a textbook cooperative with other parents. Instead of each parent buying a full set for each child, coordinate with other families in the same class. Buy four or five copies and create a rotating library. This works especially well for reference subjects like Social Studies or Civic Education.
Buy second-hand. Do not be ashamed of used books. Many students from the previous term are desperate to sell their old copies to raise money for the next session. Join your school's WhatsApp group or local second-hand book market. You can often find books in excellent condition for 40 to 50 per cent of the original price.
Demand transparency from the school. Before you pay a kobo, ask the school administration for the exact titles, ISBNs, and publishers of all required books. Then cross-check these against approved textbook lists on the NERDC website. Schools sometimes inflate prices by adding unnecessary titles. Call them out on it.
Go digital where possible. Leverage free platforms like the Nigeria Learning Passport, the Open Textbook Library, or the eGranary Digital Library. These resources are legal, free, and aligned with Nigerian curricula. Download PDFs and view them on your phone or tablet.
Report exploitative practices. If a school refuses to allow used books or insists on purchasing exclusively from their designated shop at inflated prices, report them to the State Ministry of Education. Several states now have hotlines for education-related complaints.
The Role of the Government: Too Little, Too Late?
The federal and state governments are finally waking up, but the question is whether it is too late for the 2025/2026 generation.
The TETFund Higher Education Book Development Intervention has produced 202 locally authored textbooks, with over 400,000 copies set for distribution to tertiary institutions across the country. This is a good start. It reduces dependence on expensive foreign books. Similarly, the National Textbook Ranking System scheduled to take effect in September 2026 will ensure that only top-quality, curriculum-aligned textbooks are approved for classroom use, reducing the glut of conflicting materials that confuse parents and teachers.
But government policies mean nothing without enforcement. The challenge has always been implementation. Until a parent in a rural village can walk into a school and confidently challenge an inflated booklist without fear of retaliation, the system is still broken.
A Word on the Environmental Angle
There is an aspect of this conversation that nobody talks about: waste.
When textbooks are designed for single use, they end up in landfills. Nigeria already struggles with waste management. The single-use textbook model is not only financially unsustainable; it is environmentally catastrophic. Reusable textbooks, by contrast, reduce waste, lower production emissions, and conserve the resources used to produce paper. If you care about the planet and your pocket, the choice is clear.
Now that you have read the breakdown, do not just close this tab and go back to complaining on Twitter.
Here is what I want you to do:
If you are a parent, go through your child's booklist today. Highlight every subject where the textbook is purely for reading and not for writing. Then write a polite but firm letter to the school administration asking why those textbooks cannot be reused. Copy the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and the State Ministry of Education. You might be surprised how quickly policies change when parents organise.
If you are a student, share this article with your classmates. Start a textbook-sharing group in your department or class. Explore the digital resources listed in this article. The more you refuse to be exploited, the sooner the system will adjust.
And if you found this breakdown useful, do not keep it to yourself. Share it on WhatsApp, Telegram, and every social media platform you use. Your friend who is currently deciding between buying a textbook and buying food needs to read this.
For more practical guides on navigating education costs and building a reading culture that does not leave you broke, check out other posts on Nkọwa. We talk about everything from affordable study strategies to digital learning resources that actually work.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Why are textbook prices in Nigeria so high in 2025?
A: High textbook prices in Nigeria result from a combination of inflation at 21.88%, expensive imported paper, a 300% increase in NERDC assessment fees, and the widespread practice of single-use workbooks that force families to buy new copies every term.
Q: How much does a full set of secondary school textbooks cost in Nigeria?
A: A full set of secondary school textbooks for a JSS or SSS student typically costs between N60,000 and N150,000 per term, with individual core subject textbooks like English and Maths ranging from N4,000 to N8,000 each.
Q: Are Nigerian schools allowed to force parents to buy specific textbooks?
A: Schools can recommend textbooks, but the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) regulates which textbooks are approved nationwide; parents should verify booklists against the NERDC approved list and report schools that block the use of second-hand books.
Q: What is the federal government doing about expensive textbooks in Nigeria?
A: The Federal Government introduced a reusable textbook policy in January 2026 requiring durable textbooks that last 4–6 years and banning disposable workbooks, while also launching the TETFund Book Development Intervention that produced 202 locally authored textbooks.
Q: Where can Nigerian students find free textbooks online?
A: Nigerian students can access free textbooks through the Nigeria Learning Passport (UNICEF supported), the American University of Nigeria's LOAF (1,000 free e-books), Open Educational Resources from the University of Nigeria, and the eGranary Digital Library.
Q: How can Nigerian parents save money on school textbooks?
A: Nigerian parents can save money by forming textbook cooperatives with other families, buying second-hand copies from older students, demanding school booklists before term starts to compare prices, and filing complaints with state education ministries when schools block used book usage.
Q: Do e-books and digital textbooks really save money for Nigerian students?
A: Digital textbooks save money if you already own a smartphone, but the hidden costs of data, device repairs, and electricity make printed books more reliable for Nigerian students in areas without stable power or affordable internet access.
Q: What is the textbook-to-pupil ratio in Nigerian public schools?
A: Nigeria's textbook-to-pupil ratio is still 1:4 in many public schools, meaning four children share a single textbook, which is far below the UNESCO recommended ratio of 1:1 for effective learning outcomes.
Q: Which Nigerian states have banned single-use, non-reusable textbooks?
A: Benue, Anambra, Imo, and Ondo states have officially banned the use of single-use, non-transferable textbooks, with Benue pioneering the policy in August 2025 followed by Anambra banning the writing of assignments directly inside textbooks.
Q: Is it cheaper to buy Nigerian-authored textbooks or foreign textbooks?
A: Nigerian-authored textbooks are generally cheaper than foreign imports because they avoid foreign exchange fluctuations, shipping fees, and import tariffs, which is why the federal government is investing heavily in local academic publishing.