CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1        Background of the Study
Early years in life (Ejieh, 2006) are the most important to the formation of intelligence, personality and social behaviour of a child. That is why, as he emphasized, modern societies show serious concern for the education of their young ones by providing needed support to prepare them to succeed later in school. It is common practice in most societies to make provision for early childhood education programmes of various sorts for children below the official school-going age (usually 6years) mainly to prepare them for education in primary schools (Obidike, 2012). The Federal Government of Nigeria recognizes the importance of early childhood education in Nigeria and as a result it was given prominence in the National Policy of Education (FRN, 2004) as one of the programmes in the Nigerian educational system. Bagudo (2008) posited that reports across the globe revealed that an estimated figure of one hundred million children, struggle daily for survival in villages and cities, and are exposed to the risks of hunger, poverty, disease, illiteracy and abuses.                        
In support of this view, Mahuta (2007) stresses that the need to address the problems and salvage     these children and the next generation of children from these menace, has necessitated the programme of Early Childhood Care Development and Education (ECCDE). Mahuta (2007) also stated that the aim of ECCDE is to foster the proper development of the children, identify and address their problems, harness their potentials, mould their character, enhance their learning, equip them for life, so that their actions are channelled towards positive personal, communal and global development in all ramifications of life. A Brief History of Early Childhood Education in Nigeria, shows that organized education of the child below primary school age did not receive official recognition until very recently, when it receive the attention it deserved. The concept of infant schools was introduced in Nigeria by the missionaries in the early 20th century when such schools were set up in the Western and Eastern regions of Nigeria. Early Childhood education in the form of nursery school or pre-primary education as we know it today in Nigeria is largely a post-colonial development.
The semblances of it during the colonial era were the Kindergarten and infant classes, which consisted of groups of children considered not yet ready for primary education. As groping for instruction in schools was not age-based during that period, some children aged six or even more, could be found in some of the infant classes (Tor-Anyiin, 2008). With the phasing out of infant classes, some parents began to feel the need for nursery schools.  During that period, (pre-independence) all efforts for provision of early childhood education were confined to the voluntary sector and received little or no support from the government (Tor- Anyiin, 2008). It was for the first time in 1977 with the introduction of National Policy on Education by the then military government of Nigeria that the importance and need for early childhood education was given official recognition and linked with the child’s educational performance in primary school. Gradually, early childhood institution stayed, and by 1985, Nigeria had about 4200 early childhood educational institutions which has grown by 1992 in number, to about 8,300 (Federal Government of Nigeria/UNICEF 1993).
The importance of pre-primary education cannot be overemphasized; it enables children to improve on their self-confidence since they are given opportunity to interact with their peers and adults too. Pre-primary education enhances independence and helps curb the tendency of children that are highly aggressive during group activities. Children’s interactions with their peers and adults help to widen their scope of understanding and they also gain mastery of the world around them. Pre-primary education is vital to the child, parents and society because it permits smooth transition from home to school, because it enables the child to feel free to interact with other people outside his immediate family members. The pre-primary school helps to sharpen the children’s cognitive domain through learning rhymes and songs; while playing on the slides and swings help in physical development and build their muscles. Structured play with building blocks and puzzles, baby dolls, and teddy bears helps in emotional development of the children.
At the pre-primary school stage, children learn to share and co-operate with others instead of developing the selfish tendencies. Exposure to pre-primary education goes a long way to teach each child how to understand and manage their emotions. The provision of pre-primary education assists working class parents who have no relation or house help to take care of their children while they are at work. The children will be exposed to reading and writing. Statistical research has shown that children who have experienced early childhood or pre-primary programs are more likely than other children to remain in primary school and achieve good results (UNESCO, 1995).