A leading member of United Party (UP) Hopson Adorye has said recent Senior High School graduation celebrations are increasingly being shaped by parental status competition, where some families use the occasion to signal personal achievement.
He described the behaviour as driven by how parents perceive wealth and recognition in public settings.
“People think they have money. So my daughter is competing. Let me do something to show that, yes, this is me,” he said on JoyNews.
Adorye said the shift turns graduation events into comparison points rather than simple school milestones.
He added that in such settings, decisions around gifts and displays are influenced less by the student and more by how parents want to be seen.
According to him, this has become one of the key drivers behind expensive gifts and public displays at SHS graduation events.
