The Oyo State Government has launched a fresh push to transform foundational education through a partnership with the Universal Basic Education Commission and a United States-based organisation, Think Equal.

The initiative is designed to improve learning outcomes among young children by combining traditional literacy education with social and emotional learning.

The Executive Chairman of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, Nureni Adeniran, disclosed the development on Thursday during a sensitisation and engagement meeting with representatives of Think Equal and UBEC at the board’s headquarters in Ibadan.

The programme, known as the Think Equal Pre-Primary and Primary Literacy Programme, will introduce social and emotional learning into foundational education across the pilot programme.

Beyond teaching children how to read and write, the initiative is expected to help them develop skills including empathy, emotional awareness, self-regulation and positive social interaction.

Adeniran said the state would review the programme’s implementation framework to ensure it fits into Oyo’s existing curriculum and educational priorities.

He said the review would cover teacher training, learning materials, classroom implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Oyo was selected as a pilot state for the programme, which Adeniran described as further recognition of the state’s efforts to improve basic education.

He also highlighted existing interventions in early childhood education, including the training of 320 Early Childhood Care, Development and Education teachers across the state’s 33 local government education authorities.

Representatives of Think Equal said the programme would expose teachers to an improved Learning Through Play approach aimed at creating more engaging, inclusive and child-centred classrooms.

The organisation said integrating literacy with social and emotional learning would help children build resilience, develop healthier relationships and acquire skills that extend beyond the classroom.

With the new partnership, Oyo is positioning foundational education for a broader transformation, placing equal emphasis on academic development and the social and emotional skills children need to thrive.