The importance of education to human beings cannot be overemphasized. It is seen, regarded and accepted to some extent, as the quickest way to eradicate poverty and ills in the society. There are a lot of international human rights instruments that provide for education as a fundamental right. These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (1981). To this end, various nations have given priority to education and have developed mechanisms to operate the system for effective impartation and acquisition of knowledge and skills that will help the learners to be useful for themselves and to the society at large. Pre-Primary and Primary levels of education are the most crucial because they form the foundation upon which all other levels depend to thrive. It could be seen as the proverbial ‘ketekete’ (donkey - the burden bearer). However, several political dispensations had affected these levels of education in Nigeria. This paper, therefore, highlights the various political dispensations/phases of early childhood and primary education in Nigeria from 1842 to 2011. It discusses the various programmes at various dispensations, how they were developed, operated, managed, sustained and the outcome or the effects of each dispensation on the general development and quality of education in Nigeria. Some hindrances to qualitative pre-primary and primary education were also discussed. The paper also suggests among others, that education sector should be a zone for professionals.
Keywords: Early Childhood, Primary and Pre-Primary Education, National Policy on Education (NPE), Political dispensation, Universal Basic Education