World read aloud day: NGO reminds parents, teachers on children’s right to literacy

Universal Learning Solutions (ULS), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has reminded parents, teachers and guardians of the universal right of children to read and write, in celebration of the World Read Aloud day.

The Project Manager of the NGO, Mr. Richard Turnbull, said this in a statement obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Kaduna.

NAN reports that ULS is an NGO that works with Universal Basic Education Commission to deliver Africa’s largest and most effective literacy project, called Jolly Phonics.

Turnball defined a literate child as the ultimate dream of every parent, educator, guardian, and as a valuable asset to the society at large.

“Today provides us with all the opportunity to introduce alternative ways of reading instruction and to engage learners outside the classroom, in that light we trained over 6,000 teachers in the last 12 months on jolly phonics.

“Reading aloud and telling stories help shape learners’ understanding of their culture and family value systems.

“In the classrooms, homes and communities, the World Read Aloud Day reminds us to celebrate the simple joy of reading, especially with our children,” he said.

Turnbull further said that ULS is an organisation whose primary focus is to provide innovative literacy solutions,

According to him, ULS has effectively collaborated with all of Nigeria’s 36 State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) to deliver Jolly Phonics training.

“In total, 161,379 public school teachers and 6,107 government officials have now received training reaching 13.2 million pupils.

“The Jolly Phonics methodology is widely recognized as being the most effective tool to enable learners to develop the skills required to read and write confidently in the English language.

“To help compliment the Jolly Phonics and build children’s comprehension skills, ULS has developed the ‘Reach for the Star’ readers range of affordable, high-quality decodable reading books formulated to support budding learners,” Turnbull said.

He urged parents, teachers and guardians to take advantage of the numerous learning innovations, to build a more peaceful, progressive and productive society.

The project manager also noted that the ULS innovations are its contributions to eradicating illiteracy in the world and enabling children to read aloud.