Education for a Productive Society in the 21st Century Nigeria: The Relevance of Social Justice

The paper examined education for a productive society in the 21st century Nigeria and how the application of social justice in education could be relevant for a productive society. The paper observed that investment in education leads to higher productivity, increased innovation, boost in economic growth, reduction of poverty, increase of skilled workforce, and low reliance on social welfare programmes because of individual’s active participation in the community and society at large. The paper further gathered that a productive society is one in which the members actively contribute to the creation of goods and services, utilize their skills and resources efficiently for a high level of output in economic growth and overall well-being of the society. The paper realized that social justice is a kind of principle that focuses on the concepts of fairness, equity and accessibility of public welfare services provided by the government for her citizens to explore and develop the society. Also, the paper discussed the concepts of education, education for a productive society, social justice, and the relevance of social justice in education for a productive society. Finally, the paper made a conclusion and suggested among others, that there should be commitment and sincerity of purpose when dealing with issues in education, there should be inclusive classrooms and encouragement of critical thinking, educators should create transformative learning environments that promote equity, empathy, and social change as well as abhorrence of every practices of social injustice in education by educators and stakeholders in education.