State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) across Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Adamawa, Zamfara, Akwa Ibom and Jigawa have hailed the Jolly Phonics Project for its exceptional impact on early-grade literacy, describing it as one of the most successful education interventions ever recorded in Nigeria.

Their commendations follow the release of the 2025 Phonics Screening Exercise results by Universal Learning Solutions under the UBEC 2023/2024 Teacher Professional Development programme.

According to the findings, pupils taught with the Jolly Phonics method have consistently outperformed their peers in reading and writing since monitoring began in 2019. The 2025 results mark the third major nationwide screening, following exercises in 2019 and 2021, all of which show a clear and steady rise in literacy achievement.

One of the most striking improvements appears in Primary 1 English word recognition, where the proportion of pupils meeting the national benchmark climbed from one in five in 2019 to one in three in 2025 — a 60 per cent increase.

“These results are truly inspiring,” said Patrick Uzu, Country Director of Universal Learning Solutions (ULS).

“In a context where many education projects struggle to demonstrate measurable impact, Jolly Phonics stands out for its consistent, evidence-based results. With greater investment, its reach could be even broader.”

Major international reviews, including the UK’s Rose Review and the US National Reading Panel, have affirmed synthetic phonics as one of the most reliable foundations for early reading, a finding now reflected in Nigerian classrooms.

State governments across the country say the programme has transformed early literacy. In Kano, the Executive Chairman of SUBEB, Alhaji Yusuf Kabir, praised its tangible results.

“Among the various early grade literacy interventions in Kano State, Jolly Phonics stands out for its significant impact,” he said.

“We’ve witnessed remarkable improvements in pupils’ reading and writing skills, increased teacher motivation, and classrooms filled with enthusiasm and confidence. It has laid a strong foundation for literacy in the state.”

What began as a small pilot in a single school in Akwa Ibom in 2006 has evolved into a nationwide initiative now running in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Reflecting on the growth of the programme, Gary Foxcroft, CEO of Universal Learning Solutions, said: “It’s incredible to think that Jolly Phonics started in one school 19 years ago and is now active across every state in Nigeria.

“We are proud of the teams, teachers, state coordinators, SUBEBs, and UBEC delivering evidence-based interventions that are changing children’s lives.”

The nationwide impact is anchored in strong collaboration among UBEC, SUBEBs, Universal Learning Solutions, and the Federal Ministry of Education. Under this partnership, 241,227 teachers across 120,738 schools and 7,182 officials have been trained, reaching an estimated 30 million pupils. Continuous monitoring has strengthened accountability and sustained progress.

Uzu commended UBEC and state governments for their leadership.

“UBEC has ensured that this is a national literacy strategy, not a short-term project. SUBEBs have taken real ownership, supporting teachers and ensuring data collection continues. Nigeria should be proud of these achievements.”

Independent evaluations worldwide show that children taught with synthetic phonics learn to read faster and perform better across subjects. In Nigeria, the approach has proven particularly effective in large and diverse classrooms where foundational literacy has long been a challenge.

With the 2025 results showing another year of improvement, education experts are urging policymakers to scale up investment and training.

“The data speaks for itself,” Foxcroft noted. “If this level of progress can be achieved with modest resources, much more can be done with increased support. Every Nigerian child deserves the chance to learn to read early, and Jolly Phonics has shown it is possible.”

Reaffirming Kano’s commitment, Alhaji Kabir said, “Our goal is for every child in Kano State and across Nigeria to read confidently by the end of Primary 2. Jolly Phonics provides the proven tools to achieve that.”