“In a progressive shift for educational equity, several Nigerian states; including Benue, Edo, Imo, and Anambra, have enacted policies to ban single-use textbooks and revive the practice of passing down learning materials. These moves, introduced between August and September 2025, aim to relieve parents of untenable costs and promote sustainable, inclusive education.”
States Taking Action: A Growing Movement
Several states have already made significant moves toward ending practices that force parents to buy single-use textbooks:
Benue State
In August 2025, the Benue State Ministry of Education issued a circular abolishing customized or non-transferable textbooks. Instead, schools must revert to the practice of passing books from senior to junior pupils to reduce parental burden. These measures also banned compulsory extended lessons and graduation ceremonies at early levels.
Edo State
In the same August 2025, Edo State approved a policy allowing the reuse of approved textbooks—especially for younger siblings, for at least, four years. This initiative aims to reduce costs and discourage yearly textbook turnover. Graduation ceremonies for early grades were also restricted.
Imo State
The Imo State Government prohibited the annual replacement of textbooks, mandating their use for a minimum of four years. This policy applies to public and private schools and includes banning graduation ceremonies in nursery and JSS levels.
Anambra State
In late August 2025 also, Anambra State banned students from writing assignments directly in textbooks—calling the practice unsustainable. The move is aimed at making textbooks reusable, particularly for younger siblings. Enforcement will be strict.
Why All States Should Follow Suit
1. Alleviating Financial Burden
Parents across the nation face hefty costs from having to buy new textbooks every academic year, often for reasons irrelevant to actual content. As one parent lamented, they spend significantly each year only to discard textbooks that can’t be reused.
Policies like those in Benue, Edo, Imo, and Anambra provide relief by restoring textbook reuse.
2. Promoting Sustainability
Passive practices like writing assignments in textbooks destroy their reuse value. Anambra’s ban helps preserve books and promotes resourcefulness. Similarly, Edo’s multi-year policy supports sustainability in education.
3. Reducing Inequality
Non-reusable textbooks tend to worsen educational inequality, wealthier families can afford replacements, while others cannot. Ensuring textbook reuse levels the playing field across income levels.
4. Encouraging Resilience
Flexible policies reduce reliance on private schools’ textbook sales and counter the “book racketeering” parents accuse some institutions of. Parents have expressed concern that single-use textbooks are a money-making scheme.
A Unified State‑Level Approach: The Way Forward
By adopting these reforms, states reinforce education’s affordability, sustainability, and fairness. A coordinated policy across all 36 states, at least, could include:
- Mandatory multi-year textbook usage – (minimum four-year cycles).
- Prohibiting writing assignments in textbooks to preserve their integrity.
- Restoring textbook circulation systems, passing books from older to younger students.
- Enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance (as outlined in Anambra)
