Morayo Afolabi-Brown warns parents over sending teenagers to school abroad

Nigerian TV host Morayo Afolabi-Brown has urged parents to weigh their children's emotional maturity before sending them abroad for secondary school, after reports that a 15-year-old Ghanaian boy was killed in the United States following alleged bullying.

Reacting to the case, Afolabi-Brown drew on her own experience of attending high school in the US at 15, saying she was targeted by fellow students because she was African.

She said the bullies put dirty items in her locker and pushed her during morning sports activities. She did not report it, she said, because she was new and wanted to fit in, and some students repeatedly made her feel she did not belong. The bullying, she added, worsened as she prepared for prom.

What she told parents

Her advice is not that parents should keep their children home, but that they should be sure the child is ready for life far from family support.

“University abroad is fine, but high school can be treacherous,”

she said.

She asked parents to keep in close contact with children studying overseas, to ask questions about their daily experiences and to give them support while they adjust to a new country.

Her comments come as many Nigerian families consider overseas schooling for their children, often at significant cost in naira, and weigh the safety of young students living away from home.

The reports of the Ghanaian teenager's death have not been confirmed in detail by the outlets covering the case, and no further facts about the circumstances have been established here.

What happens next

There is no policy change attached to her remarks. For parents, the practical takeaway is a conversation: ask your child how school is going, and take seriously any sign that they are being isolated or bullied.