Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has appealed to Ghanaian parents to reconsider the growing trend of sending their children abroad for education at an early age, warning that it often weakens their attachment to both their families and the country.

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 postgraduate studies overseas.

He said children who spend their formative years abroad are more likely to lose touch with their family roots and develop little connection with Ghana.

Addressing the gathering, the Speaker urged parents to instil values, patriotism and a sense of national identity in their children through local education before exposing them to 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 maintained that students who complete their education in Ghana and only travel abroad for master’s or doctoral programmes are more likely to return home after their studies.

“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.

The Speaker further argued that children taken abroad at a very young age often lose their connection with their families and fail to develop a strong sense of patriotism.

“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.

He called on parents to rethink the practice and prioritise raising their children in Ghana during their formative years.

“Please, I beg you, let’s change our ways,” Mr Bagbin appealed.

The National Integrity Awards Scheme was launched to recognise and promote integrity, accountability and ethical leadership as key values for national development.