The Federal Government has decried the shortage of domestic textbooks for teaching and learning in tertiary schools in Nigeria, which include universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, monotechnic, technical colleges and others.

The Minister of Education, Maruf Alausa, presenting 82 academic textbooks, authored by Nigerian scholars under the Higher Education Book Development Intervention Project of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund in Abuja, disclosed that the Federal Government is committed to strengthening indigenous scholarship and improving the quality of teaching and learning in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

The minister said the initiative is aimed at addressing the shortage of locally authored textbooks and reducing Nigeria’s dependence on foreign publications.

He noted that encouraging Nigerian scholars to produce quality academic materials would ensure relevant learning resources across critical fields such as science, technology and engineering.

Also, the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Sonny Echono, said the intervention is designed to strengthen teaching, learning and research in higher institutions.

He stated that 72 of the books were newly authored, while 10 additional titles were secured for distribution to beneficiary institutions.

Chairman of the TETFund Board of Trustees, Aminu Masari, described the project as a lasting investment in knowledge, stressing that intellectual contributions should benefit both the authors and future generations

Chairman of the Technical Advisory Group on Academic Book Publication, Albert Ayorinde Abegunde, said the initiative reflects Nigeria’s commitment to knowledge creation as a foundation for national development.