Twenty years after launching a pilot literacy project in Akwa Ibom State, Jolly Learning and Universal Learning Solutions (ULS), Wednesday, said their Jolly Phonics initiative has evolved into Africa’s largest literacy programme, reaching millions of Nigerian pupils and training 261,000 government school teachers and more than 7,000 education officials trained.

The initiative, which began in 2006 as a pilot to assess the effectiveness of Jolly Phonics in Akwa Ibom, has since expanded through Nigeria’s public education system to all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

In a statement by Chief Executive Officer of Jolly Learning, Gilbert Jolly, the partnership has been built around a simple principle that every child should have access to high-quality literacy education, regardless of their family’s ability to pay.

Jolly Learning said it has invested an estimated $12 million in Nigeria since the original pilot through free teacher training, pupil workbooks, teaching resources and access to its intellectual property.

Jolly said: “We are immensely proud of the impact that Jolly Phonics has made in Nigeria and the great difference that our products have made in transforming literacy levels in the country.

“As Nigeria’s largest literacy programme, we have worked with Universal Learning Solutions, UBEC and SUBEBs across the country to ensure that our materials are FREE to all government schools.

“Whilst there seems to be a misunderstanding that the National Jolly Phonics Project is commercial, I can assure you that Jolly Learning has made no money from this and has actually invested to the value of $12 million in making our materials and methodology free to the less privileged.”

The investment includes free Jolly Phonics training and materials for 88,308 Primary One teachers across the country, as well as free pupil workbooks and learning materials for 3,826,792 pupils.

The company has also provided teacher resources and methodological support, while granting licences to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the Federal Ministry of Education to print Jolly Phonics materials locally.

The value of these printing licences and associated intellectual property is worth billions of Naira, enabling the government to reach many more children at substantially lower cost.

Jolly Learning and ULS have worked closely with Universal Basic Education Commission and State Universal Basic Education Boards since 2012, scaling the programme through Nigeria’s public education system to all 36 states and the FCT.

Setting the record straight: this is not a commercial project Despite a widespread perception to the contrary, the National Jolly Phonics Project is not a commercial project.

Jolly Learning says it has made no profit from the national programme. Instead, it has made a substantial philanthropic contribution to ensure that its methodology and materials are available free to government schools.

The programme has also recently received international recognition. The African Union and UNICEF report Mapping Foundational Literacy highlighted the Nigerian Jolly Phonics project and praised the support of the Federal Ministry of Education, holding it up as an example of best practice in Africa for its impact, scalability and low cost.

In his remarks, CEO of the social enterprise, Universal Learning Solutions, Gary Foxcroft, said the programme’s growth was driven by its not-for-profit approach, Jolly Learning’s philanthropy and the support of the Nigerian government.

Foxcroft said: “We are immensely proud of the impact that the project has made in Nigeria in the last 20 years and believe this has been driven by our unique not-for-profit approach.

“The generous philanthropy of Jolly Learning and the outstanding support of the Nigerian Federal Government. It is amazing to think that the tiny pilot project we initiated back in 2006 is now, by far, Africa’s largest literacy programme.”

The transformation from a small pilot in Akwa Ibom to a national programme reaching hundreds of thousands of teachers demonstrates what can be achieved through long-term philanthropy, government leadership and a not-for-profit approach.

Jolly Learning and ULS remain committed to working with the Federal Ministry of Education, UBEC, SUBEBs and Nigerian teachers to improve foundational literacy for children across the country.