Celebrating Reading Milestones: Graduating From a Zero Reader to a Confident Reader

Foundational learning is defined as “basic literacy, numeracy, and transferable skills such as socio-emotional skills.” Recently, various global and national initiatives have been put in place to promote foundational learning. Globally, the Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning seeks to have governments commit to enhancing foundational learning through their ministries of education and development partners because it is the vital building block for all other learning and plays a key role in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4. Regionally, the African Union, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2024 committed to an initiative dubbed “End Learning Poverty for All in Africa (ELPAF)” to address the challenges of learning poverty among children. In Kenya, various initiatives by educational stakeholders have improved foundational literacy outcomes for learners in lower grades. For instance, the Tusome Early-grade Reading Remedial Program, which targeted grade 3 learners with reading difficulties, reported improved letter-sound knowledge and simple word-reading skills in the intervention schools.