But Jolly Phonics teaches letter sounds before letter names, a choice that Jolly said makes students “blending ready.” He called the review “immensely disappointing.” ...

It just wasn’t effective,” Jolly said. And yet Letters and Sounds was often seen as being the government-endorsed method of teaching reading, he added.

The Education ministry has signed an MOU with Chris Jolly, the originator of Jolly Phonics to incorporate the teaching method in basic schools across the country.

Phonics instruction gives children letter-sound knowledge, a skill that is essential for them to read unfamiliar words by themselves.