The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, has decried the dominance of foreign published materials in the nation’s academic institutions, regretting that the development has taken its toll on foreign exchange.
The minister stated this yesterday while unveiling 50 new textbooks published by Nigerian authors, under the sponsorship of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund.
Speaking through the Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Nanah Opiah, at the public presentation of the textbooks in Abuja, the minister said the publications would end the dominance of foreign academic materials in the nation’s institutions.
He said: “Overtime, Nigeria’s tertiary institutions became dependent on books published outside the country, with the attendant consequences of the herculean processes and unfavourable foreign exchange rate.
“It is equally worrisome that the quality of most academic publications in our country leaves much to be desired.
”It is, therefore, expected that nourishing the culture of quality authorship and the production of indigenous books will not only ensure the availability of relevant books in the diverse subject areas, taking cognizance of our local environment and sensitivities but will also safeguard national pride and reduce the demand for foreign exchange.”
The minister, who commended TETFund for the publications, challenged the agency and authors to also produce books with the nation’s indigenous languages.
” I also charge TETFund and the academia to go beyond publishing in English Language to promoting authorship in our local languages in line with the recently approved National Language Policy,” the minister said.
