If there is any social explosion waiting to overwhelm us, it is the self-inflicted vacuum we of the second generation born in the 1950s and 1960s have created for ourselves.

The changes in secondary education of the 1990s threw some parents into panic. For some, the 'O' and 'A’Levels of their days were good enough and had seen them and the country through, creating big Ghanaian icons around the world.

Therefore, for those who could afford it, the race began in search of private secondary schools that were exclusively offering secondary school certificates of international recognition as the educational changes set in.

And so secondary schools that could offer a curriculum that would readily help children gain admission into foreign universities became sought after. People were ready to take loans from the banks just to achieve foreign and supposedly better tertiary education for their children. 

Family vacuum Whatever the reason, the decisions taken then and which are still the decisions many more parents continue to take today, are gradually creating some family vacuum which though silent now, has the potential to dig deep into the future security and cohesion of families.

It recently dawned on me, the sad fact that the sending of children abroad to further their studies has created for the future of parents in particular and families in general.

It is well and good to seek further education for our children because education is said to be the best investment any parent can give to their children. However, education thousands of miles away could eventually hit hard on families with the drift of our young ones to foreign countries which by the way we are indirectly helping such countries build their intellectual and professional capabilities.   

The crux of the matter is that in many cases, once the degrees have been acquired abroad, there is always the temptation for young men and women to stay on to work and gain some experience. 

That period of staying for a few more years becomes a permanent stay with a good job and then starting a family of theirs.  With all the opportunities available to them in foreign countries, there is every chance that these young ones would not come back, at least not sooner.

Initially, they would manage some regular holidays just to keep the bonding with families back home. 

Commitments Their family commitments get divided once they marry and start their own families. The urgency to move back home to settle loses its appeal. Their usual holidays with parents and extended families become impossible due to the cost involved for his entire family.

The vacuum starts widening at this stage. Meanwhile, both parents have gone past the age of retirement. Those who were looking up to their children to take over their businesses began to lose hope. The reality of loneliness starts dawning.

The huge home they struggled to put up with the children in mind now becomes a shadow of its own with just the two of them as occupants in one corner. The noisy home with so much life reduces to a quiet one with empty rooms, windows and doors locked up most of the time.

It gets even more worrying when one of the parents gets ill. The closeness of weekend visits that they may have enjoyed if the children were in town eludes them. They now have to rely on extended family members or hired hands.

Bereavements But the severity of the vacuum hits harder in a time of bereavement when a parent dies. Sometimes the deceased is kept for months at the mortuary because; the larger family is waiting for a date convenient for the children abroad. 

It is sad for the children abroad not to have been able to see their parents before he or she passed on.  But it is even sadder when the surviving parent has to wait for months for the funeral because the children abroad would have to agree to a date that would suit all of them.

It is during times of bereavement that the sad regret of sending children abroad to continue their education hits hard. 

They will have a few days to stay around for the funeral and then head back. Properties acquired and left behind in their names are of little interest. Sometimes they would either fight over them or sell them outright.

Unfortunately, the situation has not gotten any better as the sending of children abroad to continue with their education grows wider. Now we even have foreign universities take advantage of the situation and are making foreign recruitment bigger money-making ventures.

They now come and pitch camp to interview and recruit, sometimes with juicy offers of financial assistance. Meanwhile, many more private schools have opened up and are busy offering courses geared towards foreign university admissions.

How on earth can we stop the vacuum that is silently being created within families with the lure of sending our children out for foreign education? 

The canker is gradually becoming a social albatross. If one is far from it, one does not see it.

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The writer can be contacted via email: vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com