Independent charity established to support Nigeria’s Universal Basic Education goals, Oando Foundation, has warned that without strong literacy and numeracy skills, children’s ability to reach their potential will be limited.

The foundation said this while announcing the launch of two reports highlighting the impact of Early Grade Reading, EGR, and Teaching at the Right Level, TaRL, interventions in strengthening literacy and numeracy outcomes across public primary schools in Ebonyi, Plateau, Sokoto, and Adamawa states.

The reports, unveiled at a dissemination workshop held in Abuja, follow the successful completion of the pilot phase of its Foundational Learning Improvement Programme, LEARNOVATE–FLIP.

According to UNICEF, 70 per cent of Nigerian children in primary school cannot read with meaning or solve simple math problems, and millions of children remain out of school.

The LEARNOVATE–FLIP pilot directly addressed this challenge by deploying evidence-based teaching methods in 80 public primary schools across Ebonyi, Plateau, Sokoto, and Adamawa states.

EGR model introduced structured reading instruction in mother tongue for pupils in Primary 1–3, while the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) model provided remedial support for pupils in Primary 4–6 who had advanced without mastering basic skills.

Speaking on the initiative, Head of Oando Foundation, Tonia Uduimoh, called for urgent action on Nigeria’s learning crisis and reaffirmed the need to scale proven interventions like EGR and TaRL to drive systemic change.

She said: ‘’For years, the statistics around foundational learning in Nigeria have been sobering. In response, Oando Foundation launched FLIP across four states, using a mixed-methods approach that combined preventive and remedial interventions to strengthen literacy and numeracy skills among pupils. Over the course of implementation, FLIP has built teacher capacity, enhanced school support systems, deployed culturally relevant assessment tools, and tested scalable, evidence-based approaches to improve learning outcomes. Most importantly, it has shown that Nigeria can tackle its learning crisis through innovation, collaboration, and community ownership. By launching these project reports, we aim to shape strategies for policy integration, financing, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and community engagement that will ensure continuity and long-term impact.”

Also, commenting on the initiative, Member, Board of Trustees, Oando Foundation, Dr Feese Nguyan, said: “The number of children that are out of school, and those in school but not learning, shows that there is still much to be done to give every child a fair chance at education. I commend our government and development partners for their commitment to this work and for walking this journey with us. For the Oando Foundation, initiatives like LEARNOVATE–FLIP reflect our mission to strengthen the capacity of teachers and national education systems, and to deliver real improvements in learning outcomes.”

Meanwhile, Director, Basic Education, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Folake Olatunji-David, said: “Education is one of the key pillars of national development and the bedrock of all progress. Without a strong grasp of literacy and numeracy, the potential of our children to thrive is limited. The FLIP initiative has provided valuable strategies and insights through teacher capacity development, community involvement, and evidence-based models. These are lessons that will enrich our collective efforts towards strengthening national education policy and improving learning outcomes, in line with SDG Goal 4. Together, we can close the learning gap, reduce poverty, and build a solid educational foundation for all Nigerian children.”