UNESCO bats for AI in Indian education

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has released a report, ‘The 2022 State of the Education Report (SOER) for India: Artificial Intelligence in Education’.

It highlights that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) market in India is expected to reach US$7.8 billion by 2025 at the rate of 20.2% compound annual growth rate. Further, the document provides ten recommendations to catalyse India’s transformational journey through technical education and advanced tech-driven solutions in the educational processes. 

Lack of resources and infrastructure affects the expansion of AI in the education sector in India, states the report. It has listed social inequity, gender disparity, digital divide and region-based disparities as some of the challenges in implementing AI education in India.

“Today, improving the quality of education and students’ learning outcomes are the utmost priorities of all countries. India has made significant strides in its education system, and strong indicators point to the country’s notable efforts to enhance learning outcomes, including using Artificial Intelligence-powered education technology, said Eric Falt, Director, UNESCO, New Delhi, at the release of the annual flagship report.

To align India’s curriculum to the 21st century and to prepare the students for the AI economy, National Education Policy 2020 lays profound emphasis on the need to impart the necessary technical knowledge at all levels of education, he emphasised.