Follow Us on Google
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) has launched 82 new academic textbooks for use in tertiary institutions, thus bringing the number of TETFUND-sponsored academic textbooks to 202.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who launched the textbooks in Abuja, on Wednesday, said the publications covered a wide range of disciplines including medicine and pharmacy; arts and literature; law; engineering and technology; agriculture and environmental studies; economics and management sciences; tourism; entrepreneurship and vocational studies; and research methodology; as well as education and literacy studies.
He said: “As we strive to transform our education sector, we profoundly recognized the critical importance of academic textbooks in tertiary education ecosystem. Over the years, the paucity of indigenous authored tertiary-level textbooks and related academic publications in our nation’s higher education institutions has reached a critical stage.
“Nigeria’s tertiary institutions became increasingly dependent on the textbooks published abroad, with the attendant pressure on foreign exchange and absence of encouragement to indigenous authors.
“Hence, nurturing a culture of excellence in authorship and promoting the production of high-quality indigenous textbooks will not only ensure the availability of relevant academic textbooks across diverse disciplines particularly in science, technology and innovations to reflect our local environment and sensitivities, but will also safeguard national pride, encourage our scholars to showcase their intellects and authorship in various academic disciplines.
“To ensure the successful implementation of the project, the Board of Trustees of TETFund, in 2009, established a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to work on the Book Development Blueprint that clearly articulates the administrative procedures, frameworks, and guidelines for the effective administration of the Higher Education Book Development Intervention in tertiary institutions across the country. The mandate focuses on the publication of academic textbooks; support for Professional Association Journals; and the establishment and sustainability of Academic Publishing Centres (APCs).”
He said the Federal Government will continue to place emphasis on book development, financial support to Professional and Academic Research Journals and assistance to APCs through TETFund to provide adequate indigenous learning materials for our tertiary institutions.
Other News
“This initiative is critical to national development, and to enhancing the global competitiveness and ranking of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions,” he said.
Executive Secretary of TETFUND, Sonny Echono, in his remarks, said the new textbooks are strategic to the desire of TETFUND to make academic materials available for students in tertiary institutions.
He stated that aside the hardcopy of the books that would be made available to students, institutions and other stakeholders can also access the book on Tertiary Education, Research, Applications and Services (TERAS) which is a digital platform designed to enhance easy access to services of TETFUND.
He confirmed that the textbooks were authored by distinguished Nigerian scholars and published under the Higher Education Book Development Intervention Project of the Fund. “This milestone is a testament to the Federal Government’s commitment to quality education and pursuit of academic excellence,” he said.
Chairman, TAG on Academic Book Publication and Professional Journal Funding, Prof. Albert Abegunde, disclosed that before now, only about 20 titles had been produced under this initiative; but the number has risen and exceeded 200 titles textbooks.
“Specifically, 10 titles were presented in August 2022; 40 in December 2023; another 50 in March 2025; and today the Fund presents an additional 82 academic textbooks. This remarkable progress reflects the commitment of TETFund. As of today, more than 400,000 copies of TETFund-sponsored textbooks have been distributed to tertiary institutions across the country.”
He restated that for decades, Nigerian universities had relied heavily on imported textbooks that often fail to reflect the realities and aspirations of the Nigerian society until the establishment of Higher Education Book Development Intervention Project under TETFUND.
“These works are designed to enrich teaching, deepen research, strengthen policy engagement, and enhance learning in our tertiary institutions. Among the publications is the volume titled Perspectives on Environmental Management that contains the highest number of pages at 1,263,” he said.
