Senior lawyer and Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has criticised what he describes as growing parental excesses that are undermining discipline in Ghana’s schools.

Speaking on Newsfile, Bentil argued that some parents are contributing to a breakdown in accountability among students, warning that such behaviour weakens institutional efforts to raise responsible young people.

“You buy a car for your child and take it to school. What kind of obscene thing is that?” he said, faulting what he sees as overindulgence by parents.

He also referenced an unverified but widely circulated claim that a parent once used a Ghana Armed Forces helicopter to pick up a child from senior high school, a claim that has not been independently confirmed by authorities.

“Somebody flew a Ghana Armed Forces helicopter — really? — to go and pick their child from SHS. What are we doing?” he asked.

Bentil acknowledged that the helicopter claim remains unconfirmed, noting that even sector authorities have expressed surprise and that there is speculation it could be fabricated or AI-generated. However, he said its circulation alone reflects deeper concerns about societal attitudes toward discipline.

His comments come amid heightened public concern following a series of recent incidents in Ghana’s education sector.

On June 11, 2026, the body of 17-year-old Emmanuel Arthur, a final-year student of Mfantsipim School, was found in an uncompleted building in Cape Coast. Police later indicated the case appeared to be suicide, though investigations are ongoing into possible contributing factors.

In a separate development, the Ghana Education Service launched investigations after a video allegedly involving a teacher and a student of Bole Senior High School circulated online. The teacher has since been interdicted pending disciplinary processes.

Around the same period, the University of Cape Coast University of Cape Coast community was shaken by the death of Level 200 student Innocentia Avinu, whose body was later discovered near Hutchland Beach Resort. Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the case as investigations continue.

Bentil urged caution against despair, saying the issues reflect long-standing societal challenges rather than sudden collapse.

“We are failing to do what we must do to instil discipline,” he said. “We can’t change them or make them into what we were.”

He added that every generation critiques the one before it, and noted that today’s students are shaped by a more complex environment influenced by technology and shifting social norms.