Educate children in Ghana before sending them abroad – Bagbin to Parents

Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has urged Ghanaian parents to reconsider the growing trend of sending their children abroad at a young age for education, warning that the practice often weakens their attachment to their families, culture and the nation.

Speaking at the launch of the National Integrity Awards Scheme at the D.F. Annan Auditorium in Parliament on Monday, July 27, Mr Bagbin encouraged parents to allow their children to complete their basic and secondary education in Ghana before pursuing higher studies overseas.

He stressed that children who grow up and study in Ghana are more likely to develop strong family values, patriotism and a sense of national identity before seeking further academic opportunities abroad.

“Many of you who rush your children abroad to study, I beg you, you don’t love your children because you know you are going to lose them,” he said.

Mr Bagbin explained that students who pursue postgraduate programmes abroad after receiving their earlier education in Ghana have a greater likelihood of returning home.

“It’s when they study here and get to a stage of maturity, and they want to advance, and they are going to do a Master’s, PhD, and that kind of thing, then you have hope that they will come back,” he stated.

He expressed concern that children sent overseas at a very young age often lose touch with their families and their homeland.

“Those you carry as babies and send there, they don’t even come to your funeral. It’s true. They don’t know you. They don’t have any attachment. They don’t like your country. There’s no patriotism there. They don’t know what a family is,” he said.

The Speaker appealed to parents to raise their children in Ghana during their formative years to strengthen their cultural identity and family bonds.

“Please, I beg you, let’s change our ways,” he urged.

The remarks were made during the launch of the National Integrity Awards Scheme, an initiative designed to promote integrity, accountability and ethical leadership in Ghana