By Taiwo A. Adekanye
Dear Honourable Minister,
INTRODUCING HELLO PHONICS: A NEW READING MODEL
A Panacea for Reading Challenges in Primary and Secondary Schools and the Incidence of Out-of-School Children in Nigeria
Nigeria’s aspiration for sustainable local content development must begin with a strong educational foundation. Sadly, illiteracy—particularly the inability to read effectively—remains widespread across primary and secondary schools in the country, contributing significantly to poor learning outcomes and the persistent challenge of out-of-school children.
It is in response to this national challenge that the Hello Phonics Model was developed and introduced. Since 2019, the model has been presented to the Federal Ministry of Education at various stages and was formally approved by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) and recommended for use as a textbook on 8 August 2020.
Hello Phonics is not merely a textbook, but a new, innovative reading model with proven results. One of its most unique strengths is its ability to teach reading in Nigerian languages in their simplest form, using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbols. Beyond improving literacy, the model also reconnects learners with Nigerian culture, making it both effective and proudly indigenous.
The Hello Phonics Model is designed to help pupils and students with reading difficulties learn to read faster and more easily within a short period. It adopts a vertical reading approach, holding consonants constant while learners master phonetic variations. The model has been tested and proven, with children demonstrating the ability to read fluently in less than one month.
Importantly, Hello Phonics has been tailored to help Nigerian learners meet internationally competitive reading standards. It is especially suitable for girl-child education, adult literacy programmes, mass literacy initiatives, and interventions aimed at addressing the out-of-school children challenge.
The concept of the Hello Phonics Model was first formally proposed during the inauguration of the Presidential Steering Committee on Alternative School Programmes on 26 January 2021, a committee established to develop strategies and action plans for tackling the out-of-school children syndrome in Nigeria.
In October 2024, the Nigerian Senate resolved to organise a national summit on out-of-school children, following the report of the Senate Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary), presented by Senator Usman Adamu. While such a summit reflects commendable concern, I respectfully submit that a practical, tested solution already exists.
If given the opportunity to formally present and deploy the Hello Phonics Model nationwide, I confidently guarantee that within six months, at least 75% of pupils and students in both public and private schools who currently cannot read will be able to read fluently, including magazines and textbooks. This literacy transformation could be achieved before the next academic year, marking a significant leap in Nigeria’s literacy levels.
In light of this, I humbly request that the Honourable Minister uses his good office to present the Hello Phonics Model at the next National Council on Education (NCE) meeting, with a view to its adoption by states as a strategic intervention for:
Reading challenges in primary and secondary schools
Girl-child education
Adult literacy programmes
The out-of-school children crisis
This request is particularly necessary given that education is implemented at the state level, and the NCE remains the appropriate platform for nationwide adoption. The model has already received NERDC approval and recommendation (10 August 2020), the statutory authority responsible for curriculum development in Nigeria.
Thank you in anticipation of your favourable consideration. I would be honoured to make a formal presentation on how the Hello Phonics Model works whenever called upon.
Yours faithfully,
Taiwo A. Adekanye
Author
📧 Email: taiwo @jdgloballight.org
