Twenty years after a pilot literacy project began in Akwa Ibom State, Jolly Learning and Universal Learning Solutions (ULS) report that their Jolly Phonics initiative has grown into one of Africa’s largest literacy programmes. The programme has trained 261,000 government school teachers and more than 7,000 education officials, reaching millions of Nigerian pupils.
What started in 2006 as a small pilot to test Jolly Phonics in Akwa Ibom has expanded to public schools in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to Gilbert Jolly, CEO of Jolly Learning, the partnership rests on the principle that every child should have access to quality literacy education regardless of family income. The company states it has invested approximately $12 million in Nigeria since the pilot began. This support has included free teacher training, pupil workbooks, teaching resources, and access to its intellectual property.
Jolly Learning reports that the materials and methodology have been provided free of charge to government schools through collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs). The company says it has not generated profit from the national programme and has instead treated it as a philanthropic effort.
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Specific figures shared by the organisations include:
• Free Jolly Phonics training and resources for 88,308 Primary One teachers
• Free workbooks and learning materials for 3,826,792 pupils
• Printing licences granted to UBEC and the Federal Ministry of Education, enabling lower-cost local production of materials
Since 2012, Jolly Learning and ULS have worked closely with UBEC and state boards to scale the programme nationwide.
The initiative has received international attention. A report by the African Union and UNICEF titled “Mapping Foundational Literacy” highlighted the Nigerian Jolly Phonics project as a best-practice example in Africa, noting its scale, relatively low cost, and support from the Federal Ministry of Education.
Gary Foxcroft, CEO of Universal Learning Solutions, attributed the programme’s growth to the combination of Jolly Learning’s philanthropic support, the nonprofit model of ULS, and backing from Nigerian education authorities. He noted that the original pilot has developed into a nationwide effort reaching hundreds of thousands of teachers.
Jolly Learning and ULS say they remain committed to working with the Federal Ministry of Education, UBEC, SUBEBs, and teachers to strengthen foundational literacy across Nigeria.
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