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AI promises personalised learning, streamlined administration, and a skills-driven workforce
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Jesussanz
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic fantasy — it’s steadily transforming Indian education from a rigid, rote-based system into a dynamic, future-ready one. Once confined to automating tasks, AI now promises personalised learning, streamlined administration, and a skills-driven workforce, aligning with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s vision. For India — a nation with over 250 million students and a burgeoning tech ecosystem —this shift holds immense potential to catapult us onto the global stage. Yet, it’s a tightrope walk: harness it well, and we empower millions; falter, and we deepen existing divides.
Imagine a classroom where AI tailors lessons to each student’s pace, tracks progress in real time, and frees teachers from paperwork to focus on mentoring. This isn’t a distant vision — it’s unfolding now. In CBSE schools, AI is an elective for ninth graders, while States like Andhra Pradesh deploy virtual labs to bridge gaps. McKinsey (2023) estimates AI could boost productivity by 25 per cent globally — an opportunity India’s sprawling education system can’t ignore. But our path differs from the West’s. While the US and Europe race to integrate AI — slashing administrative roles by half in one in five institutions by 2026, per Gartner (2023) — India balances innovation with tradition, constrained by uneven infrastructure and a cultural lean towards authority.
India’s approach isn’t a full overhaul — it’s a pragmatic evolution. NEP 2020 lays the groundwork with its push for flexibility, critical thinking, and digital literacy, yet we retain human oversight to navigate our diverse, multilingual landscape. Labour costs — $1-2 an hour versus $35 in the US, per the International Labour Organization (ILO, 2023) — ease the rush to automate teaching roles, while our guru-shishya ethos resists a complete tech takeover. World Business Culture (2023) notes how Indian education mirrors societal hierarchies, slowing radical shifts. This blend isn’t hesitation — it’s strategy, merging AI’s strengths with what works here.
Many benefits
The benefits are compelling. Efficiency stands out — AI can cut grading time by 20 per cent, per the World Economic Forum (2024), letting teachers nurture rather than just assess. In rural Maharashtra, AI tools could predict dropout risks, saving students and boosting completion rates — a lifeline for India’s 600,000+ schools. Innovation follows: platforms like Code.org, with a 66 per cent task performance boost (NNG Group, 2023), teach coding interactively, prepping kids for our IT-driven economy. Flexibility proved its worth during Covid-19, with AI platforms like Tara aiding rural learners, per Frontline (2023). Then there’s experience — AI tutors offer 24/7 help, while automated admin lightens teachers’ loads. New roles sprout too — AI trainers, edtech specialists — with Deloitte and Nasscom (2022) forecasting 1.25 million such jobs by 2027.
But challenges loom large. Jobs are at risk — Pew Research (2023) pegs 19 per cent of US workers as AI-vulnerable, and globally, 800 million roles could shift by 2030 (Zippia, 2023). In India, teachers lacking digital skills and rural students face exclusion; LinkedIn (2024) finds 94 per cent of firms planning reskilling, but training 1.2 million educators is a Herculean task. Ethics pose another hurdle — AI with biased data could misjudge India’s diverse learners, amplifying inequities. ISACA (2023) reports 79 per cent of Indians fear data misuse; the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023) aims to address this, but enforcement lags (PIB, 2023).
Infrastructure is a glaring gap. With 65 per cent of India rural and many offline, AI’s reach is limited — UNESCO (2022) calls this digital divide a top challenge. Deploying AI isn’t cheap — hardware, software, training — and small schools struggle. Culture adds complexity: our reverence for teachers clashes with AI’s push for autonomy, risking resistance from educators and parents alike. This isn’t just about tech — it’s about people and systems.
Way ahead
How do we chart this course? First, reskill — equip teachers with AI literacy, data skills, and adaptive pedagogy; Skill India’s digital courses are a foundation (Deloitte India, 2022). Second, integrate smartly — use AI for tutoring and analytics, keep humans for strategy and empathy, honouring our traditions. Third, enforce ethics — craft clear AI guidelines, per OECD (2019), with audits to ensure fairness and trust. Fourth, close the divide — boost rural connectivity via PM eVIDYA and private partnerships, as the World Bank (2024) urges. Finally, adapt globally — learn from Singapore’s AI curricula but localise it, creating affordable tools for tier-2 towns and villages.
India’s AI revolution in education won’t mimic the West — it’ll reflect our ethos, blending tech with human warmth. Done right, every child could learn at their pace, teachers could innovate, and skills could match global needs. CEPR (2023) notes a 0.5-0.6 per cent productivity bump from AI in Japan — India could mirror this, leveraging our tech talent and resilience. Done wrong, we risk a future where only the connected thrive. This isn’t a trend — it’s a chance to rethink learning, skilling, and equity for 1.4 billion people. The clock’s ticking — let’s shape it our way.
The writers are faculty at IIT Jodhpur
Published on April 15, 2025
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