ABSTRACT
Human collectivities are never simply homogeneous collections of like beings; even the simplest of them have 'structure' in the sense of a division of labour by sex, age, generation and kinship, and in most communities other distinctions are recognised as well. The societies of pre-colonial Africa varied in size, complexity and degree of stratification, ranging from the so-called 'acephalous' societies found in many parts of Africa to the great states of West Africa and elsewhere. Social and political life in acephalous societies was based on kinship and descent, and social and political roles were distributed on the basis of age, sex and personal characteristics and achievements. In parts of Africa, especially in the savanna region of West Africa, Muslim education has existed for a very long time. At all levels Muslim education linked the pupil with the Arabic language and the religion of Islam. Pre-colonial educational arrangements expresses that there was a close relationship between stratification systems and educational practices.
