At a time when Nigerians are grappling with high inflation and rising living costs, parents have raised concerns about the need to reuse textbooks.

While the issue of writing assignments in textbooks is a matter that ought to be addressed at the state level, it is also a national issue as it directly impacts the cost of education, parents’ burdens, and the right of children to learn without exploitation.

In recent times, several states have taken bold steps to ban the practice of writing assignments inside textbooks. In Benue state, the government issued a circular abolishing customised, non-transferable textbooks and exercise books, instructing schools to return to the traditional practice where senior students hand down books to juniors.

In August 2025, the Edo State government approved a policy allowing approved textbooks to be reused by younger siblings for at least four years, effective from the 2025/2026 academic session. This policy aims to reduce costs for parents, promote sustainability, and ensure textbooks remain valid for a longer period before being reviewed.

Under this new policy, publishers must also separate workbooks from textbooks, and schools are restricted from requiring parents to buy workbook-embedded textbooks.

Similarly, Imo State further prohibits the annual replacement of textbooks and mandates that books remain valid for at least four years.

In Anambra State, the government also banned the practice of writing assignments directly in textbooks so that they can be preserved for reuse, reducing the financial strain on parents.

Each of these decisions reflects a growing recognition that the burden of education has extended far beyond tuition fees, with school owners and publishers often encouraging parents to incur unnecessary expenses.

For many families with multiple children, the inability to reuse textbooks has meant buying the same book three or four times.

In an interview with Naijaonpoint, a parent who requested anonymity spoke about appealing to school management to allow her child to reuse textbooks due to the country’s economic conditions.

When questioned how she intends to make it possible, considering the practice of writing inside textbooks, she said, “Only Mathematics and English textbooks cost ₦14, 000 while the other textbooks, notebooks and stationery are ₦55, 000. The school fee is not included.

“I have spoken to the school management and a parent in the school to give me the textbooks his son used in Year 1. I will use an eraser to clean the assignments written with a pencil and use Tipex for the places that the teacher marked with a pen.”

In an interview with Naijaonpoint, an educationist and Executive Director of a school in Lagos State, Ayoluwa-Lanre Akinremi, described the practice of writing assignments inside textbooks as a complex issue with two sides, stressing that it can be either forward-thinking or regressive, depending on how and at what level it is implemented.

She said, “Dicey situation as far as I’m concerned, and I think there are two sides to the coin. It could be forward thinking and it could be taking us back. It depends on how well it is handled and at what level it is introduced. That’s the way I see it.”

Asked if there should be a lifespan on the reuse of textbooks, Akinremi said textbooks inherently have a lifespan, determined by physical wear and tear.

She said, “Every textbook has a life span. So for the fact that textbooks are going to wear and tear, that textbook automatically has given you a lifespan. That is number one. Number two thing is, we all know it is a fact that every part of education goes obsolete every five, ten years.”

New Textbooks Foster Sense Of Ownership

According to Akinremi, handed-down textbooks, often marked with previous users’ names, reduce this sense of ownership by about 20%, potentially affecting the child’s motivation and care for the book.

Akinremi said while financial considerations are essential, placing cost saving above the child’s educational experience and emotional engagement is not advisable.

She stressed, “I think, from JSS 1 and above. JSS 1 to 3 may not be able to undo the effect of not writing in their personal textbooks. When you resume, as a child, a new classroom, number one, the joy of entering into a new classroom comes with a new uniform, new shoes, a new school bag, and new textbooks. Now, if you give a child a textbook, he flips it over and the first thing he sees is probably somebody else has written the name on it. Like siblings are trying to pass it down.

“The fact that the book is not brand new, it takes 20% of the deal for the child. It’s in as much as we want to look at it from the parents’ angle and try to help them reduce the financial cost because of the economic hardship. We should also look at it from the child’s angle.”

It Is Environmentally Destructive

However, in an interview with Naijaonpoint, the Consultant to the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education and CEO of Global Education Media, Durotimi Adeboye, strongly opposed the practice of writing assignments inside textbooks.

Adeboye described the practice as environmentally irresponsible and economically exploitative, benefiting publishers at the expense of families and sustainability.

He said, “What I can smell from the foregoing is that book manufacturers are the ones who put this agenda together so that they can continually sell their books. And our books are like genetically modified food, where once you grow a seed, you have to go back to where you bought it initially to buy another one. Seeds don’t produce seeds anymore. So when that child is out of that class, instead of another pupil or a family member to use it, it’s no longer usable. I find it even environmentally destructive because these papers, then they have to manufacture another set of paper in the factory, burn gas to produce the paper, and then that one gets used, and then dumped again, and then another one gets produced. I remember that when we were growing up, we would pass books from one child to another.

“I’m unable to see any good in it. Except that the manufacturers of the books we continue to manufacture make a lot of money while destroying the environment.”

Asked if the practice is a bureaucratic decision with little influence from parents and teachers, Aeboye said, “Well, I see it as a conspiracy between educational administrators as well as the companies that supply textbooks to schools. My own conclusion on this is that parents are just being ripped off.”

When questioned on the lifespan proposal for textbooks by some states, Adeboye said, “I can only agree with it if, for instance, the school curriculum changes. Okay, wait, let me ask you a question now. For instance, if we are reading Julius Caesar, Things Fall Apart for our literature, and I obtain my Things Fall Apart book, and then I do my assignment inside that same book, in the next ten years, are they going to change the content of Things Fall Apart? So what’s the point? If things fall apart, it’s going to remain things fall apart. I think it’s just a rip-off by the book manufacturers or printers or publishers.”

Previously, textbooks were reusable and could be passed down to siblings or other students, promoting sustainability and cost savings. However, the current practice contrasts sharply with past educational norms, which can impact every child’s right to affordable and quality education.