Pre-Primary Education

This is referred to as the education given to children aged three to five years prior to their entering primary school. This type of education is currently being provided for mainly in privately owned institutions. Day care centres also exist for children below the age of two. The pre-primary schools are mainly concentrated in urban and semi-urban areas where there are working mothers who have no relation or house-helps to take care of their children.

Primary Education

This is education given normally to children aged between six and eleven years and above. Since the rest of the educational system is built upon it, the primary level is the key to the success or failure of the whole system.

The state and local governments have the constitutional responsibility for primary education but private sector, represented by individuals, communities, religious groups, and voluntary agencies are permitted to own and run primary schools. Private schools usually charge fees whilst public schools charge only a token amount in fees. Parents provide uniforms, text-books and other school materials in both private and public schools.

Management of Primary Education

The National Primary Education Commission which has the following functions:

- Prescribe the minimum standards of primary education throughout Nigeria.
- Inquire into and advise Government on the funding of primary education in Nigeria.
- Manage the National Primary Education Fund as established by the Federal Government and allocate the funds to the appropriate body designated by each State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and to any agency responsible for Special Federal Government sponsored primary school project.
- Collate, after consultation with all the State Governments, periodic master plans for a balanced and co-ordinated development of primary education in Nigeria.

Special Education

Education of handicapped children was not considered an important investment until quite recently. In fact, the first school for handicapped children (excluding the gifted) was established by the missionaries in 1932. However, by 1974, Government has thought it fit to accord it due priority that it deserves. Since then each State of the Federation has been providing integration facilities for the handicapped in compliance with the Federal Government policy.

Special education is the educational treatment of children and adults who have learning difficulties because of various sorts of disabilities. As a result they are unable to cope with the normal school class organization and methods, without special supportive resources.

There are also the specially gifted and talented children who are intellectually precious and find themselves insufficiently challenged by the programmes of the normal schools, and who may take to behaviour problems in resistance to it. Government has directed that all exceptional children must be provided for under the National Policy on Education.

Basic Education for Nomads in Nigeria

Another area that has attracted special attention is the education of the country's nomadic population. Realising that the educational needs of this group might not be met through regular channels, government set up a National Advisory Committee to cater for nomadic education in the country.

This policy has resulted in the establishment of 65 regular schools, 46 on-site schools, 10 mobile schools and the enrolment of (6,575) nomadic children in fourteen states and (2,744) adults in 89 classes provided for them in three states. This brings to a total of 0.35% (22,692) nomadic pastoral adults and children who are benefiting from educational provisions.

The above figure of nomads who have other acquired some form of education or are acquiring education, when compared with an estimated population of 6.4 million is very small indeed. Therefore, if education for all is to be achieved in the next millennium there is the need for a greater support by individual, local, state and federal governments and international agencies.