The Oyo State Government has expressed readiness to partner with the Universal Basic Education Commission and Think Equal Organisation of the United States to strengthen foundational education across the state.

The initiative, known as the Think Equal Pre-Primary and Primary Literacy Programme, is focused on Social and Emotional Learning and is designed to complement conventional literacy education.

The programme will equip young learners with skills including empathy, emotional intelligence, self-regulation and positive social interaction.

The Executive Chairman of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Nureni Aderemi Adeniran, disclosed the development on Thursday while receiving representatives of Think Equal and UBEC officials during a sensitisation visit in Ibadan.

Adeniran said Oyo SUBEB would review the implementation of the programme, including teacher training, classroom resources, monitoring and evaluation, to ensure effective integration with the state’s existing curriculum.

He noted that the state had already invested in pre-primary education, including the training of 320 Early Childhood Care, Development and Education teachers across the 33 Local Government Universal Basic Education Authorities.

The chairman thanked Think Equal and UBEC for selecting Oyo as a pilot state, describing the development as recognition of the state’s progress in education.

UBEC Zonal Director, Mrs Beatrice Okei, said the initiative comes amid continued efforts by UBEC and state education boards to improve basic education through investment in infrastructure, teacher development and welfare.

Representing Think Equal, its Senior Manager for Africa, Middle East and Asia, Anas Tahhan, said the programme would also introduce revised Learning Through Play methods to improve the holistic development of pre-primary school children.

He said the approach would provide teachers with innovative, inclusive and child-centred strategies while helping children develop social and emotional skills alongside academic abilities.

The Oyo Government said it would work with its partners to ensure the programme produces measurable improvements in foundational learning across participating schools.