Bagbin Urges Parents to Rethink Sending Young Children Abroad for Schooling

Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has urged Ghanaian parents to reconsider the practice of sending their children abroad for education at a very young age, warning that it can weaken family ties, reduce patriotism and leave children disconnected from their cultural roots.

Speaking at a public event, Mr Bagbin questioned the increasing tendency of parents to enrol their children in foreign schools from infancy or early childhood, arguing that the long-term social and emotional costs often outweigh the perceived educational benefits.

According to the Speaker, while many parents believe they are securing brighter futures for their children, they may inadvertently deprive them of the values, identity and relationships that come from growing up within their families and communities.

“Many of you who rush your children abroad to study, I beg you, you don’t love your children,” he said.

Mr Bagbin contended that children who spend most of their formative years outside Ghana frequently lose their emotional connection to both their relatives and their country, making it more difficult to maintain strong family bonds later in life.

“Those you carry as babies and send there may not even come back for your funeral. They don’t know you, they don’t have any attachment, they don’t like your country, there is no patriotism there,” he stated.

The Speaker also expressed concern that children raised abroad from an early age may miss the communal values and extended family culture that are central to Ghanaian society.

“They don’t know what a family is. Because over there, there is nothing like that,” he added.

Mr Bagbin’s remarks contribute to the ongoing national conversation about balancing access to international educational opportunities with preserving family relationships, cultural identity and national belonging.

Yaw Opoku Amoako

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