Universities, Employers Placing More Value On Critical Thinking, Creativity, Others – Ndoma-Egba

Former Senate Leader and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Start-Rite International School, Abuja, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, has said universities and employers are increasingly placing greater value on skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, adaptability and leadership.

Ndoma-Egba stated this as he congratulated a student of Start-Rite International School, Abigail Oyindamola Akinlade, who represented Nigeria at the 2026 Hiroshima Global Youth Forum in Japan and was subsequently appointed an Ambassador of the international youth programme.

Abigail paid a courtesy visit to Ndoma-Egba to share her experience at the global summit and present her appointment as an Ambassador of the Hiroshima Global Youth Forum.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Saturday by the Media and Communication Unit of Start-Rite Schools.

The Hiroshima Global Youth Forum, organised by the Hiroshima Prefectural Government and the Hiroshima Organisation for Global Peace (HOPe), brought together selected high school delegates from different countries for engagements on peace, sustainability and global cooperation.

The honour bestowed on Abigail was conferred by Yokota Mika, Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture and President of the Hiroshima Organisation for Global Peace, in recognition of her contribution to the international programme.

The development, according to the school, underscores the importance of an education system that goes beyond academic achievement to equip young people with skills and experiences applicable to real-life situations.

“As education continues to evolve, universities and employers are placing increasing value on qualities such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, adaptability, leadership, and the ability to solve complex problems,” the statement quoted Ndoma-Egba as saying.

“These qualities are cultivated through learning experiences that encourage students to think beyond the classroom and apply their learning to real life situations.”

The former Senate Leader also emphasised the need for schools to measure their success by the impact they make on students rather than simply by the number of activities and programmes they organise.

A few weeks before Abigail’s visit, Ndoma-Egba had, during a two-day strategic retreat with members of the school’s management team and a whole-school meeting with staff, challenged the school community to move “from activity to impact.”

The engagement was guided by the theme, “From Activity to Impact: Every Student Thriving, Every Family Engaged and Every Staff Growing.”

According to the statement, Ndoma-Egba urged every member of staff “to judge success not by the number of programmes delivered, but by the lives transformed.”

He also called on the school to strengthen its systems, structures and learning experiences to move Start-Rite closer to its aspiration of becoming “The School… a model of what true education should represent.”

Congratulating Abigail on her Hiroshima achievement, Ndoma-Egba described it as the kind of outcome that reinforces the school’s commitment to preparing students for leadership beyond the classroom.

The school said Abigail’s international achievement was preceded by her participation in a range of activities within its wider curriculum, including leadership development, public speaking, Model United Nations conferences, Global Citizenship Education, Education for Sustainable Development and community engagement.

“Together, these opportunities gave her the confidence, perspective, and global outlook that earned her a fully funded place at the Hiroshima Global Youth Forum,” the statement said.

At the forum, Abigail joined young leaders from different parts of the world to engage in conversations on peace, sustainability and global cooperation, while working together to develop practical responses to challenges facing their generation.

She distinguished herself during the programme, culminating in her appointment as a Hiroshima Global Youth Forum Ambassador.

The school said her achievement reflected its renewed commitment, as the new academic session begins, to developing young people whose education is measured not only by academic performance, but also by “the confidence to engage with the world, the character to lead responsibly, and the capacity to create positive change.”

“With the new academic session underway, Abigail’s meeting with Distinguished Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, OFR, CON, LL.D., SAN, reflects what becomes possible when vision is translated into opportunity and potential is carefully developed,” the statement said.

“The ambition is to raise young people who are equipped not only to succeed in life, but to improve the lives of others through purposeful leadership and meaningful service.”