How AI Is Activating Step Changes In Indian Education – New Technology

AI in education is driving changes like personalized teaching,
multi-lingual and differential learning, and real-time
assessments.

In brief

• By taking up administrative tasks, Indian edtech companies are
  using AI to help teachers focus more on high-value activities such
  as lesson planning, personalized curriculums and reading material
  suggestions.




• Edtech players continue to bridge learning gaps with the help
  of AI teaching tools such as regional languages and differences in
  the learning capability spectrum.




• The government of India is committed to building the future of
  education by harnessing the capabilities of AI at the school,
  college and university levels.

The government of India’s education vision for Viksit Bharat
2047 is to create an inclusive, high-quality education system for
skill development and life abilities. India has 1.5 million
schools, more than 8.5 million primary and secondary teachers and
more than 260 million enrolments into the school system every year.
In the higher education space, more than 40 million students enrol
in more than 1000 universities and 42000 colleges annually.
However, the Indian education system is characterized by
fixed curriculums, archaic education delivery models and static
testing concepts. This has caused a gaping chasm between education
and contemporary work skills. The advent of AI, however, has changed things. It is helping
the system move away from standardized to personalized, making it
relevant and effective for the present.

AI has taken seriously long strides to alter every aspect of the
system– from curriculum to test delivery. In the race for
skilling for Viksit Bharat 2047, these step changes are causing a
paradigm shift and helping Indian education come at par with global
systems. We look at some of the biggest shifts.

Focus on high-value activities for teachers

The most immediate impact of AI in teaching has been in
streamlining administrative tasks. AI tools for Indian teachers
which automate repetitive tasks like grading assignments,
attendance tracking and maintaining student records, allow them
more time to engage with students and improve lesson delivery.
Lesson planning and curriculum design is also undergoing radical
shifts, with teachers utilizing AI to design lesson plans tailored
to specific curriculum standards or student needs. For example,
Indian edtech companies have developed solutions where learners get
self-generated quizzes and tests during lessons based on deep
understanding of a student’s areas of struggle. They also
suggest additional options such as supplementary reading materials
in real-time. This level of personalization also allows teachers to
view dashboards of specific developmental areas of focus of each
individual student. Edtech platforms are continually pushing the
envelop as to how to equip teachers with better real-time
intelligence and teaching aids. We will continue to see more
innovation in this space in 2025.

Bridging differential learning paths

AI is helping educators unlock talent in differential learning
paths who may typically have unrealized potential. AI for
multilingual education is helping students bridge learning gaps
from language difficulties. Development of voice-based learning
models in local languages is on the rise. A stream of companies are
continually working to enrich datasets in Tamil, Telegu, Hindi and
other such Indian languages. This is helping students bridge
language gaps by offering lessons in local languages or learn new
languages effectively. Learners also have access to GenAI tools which can adapt to dialectal
differences, enabling more inclusive education. Tools like Duolingo
for Autism use AI to develop personalized lesson plans, providing
immediate feedback and designing engaging learning activities. With
respect to special needs education with AI, the capability to
create customized content that aligns with their abilities is
turning out to be a gamechanger. Auticare, an innovation by ISTI, under the Dept. of Science
and Technology, GoI, is an assistive technology learning platform
which uses different virtual reality scenarios based on applied
behaviour analysis to assist learners with autism.

Adaptive learning

AI’s adaptive learning abilities have a big impact on
education delivery. Leading Indian edtech platforms are continually
looking to utilize AI’s adaptivity to analyse student
performance and suggest tailored learning experiences to address
specific areas of improvement. Edtech solution development is
presently focused on using AI/GenAI to analyse learning patterns,
strengths and weaknesses in the form of intelligent and interactive
platforms. Leading adaptive systems can adjust difficulty levels
dynamically, ensuring students remain engaged without feeling
overwhelmed. They also create diverse content types, such as
videos, infographics and quizzes to cater to different learning
styles.

Policy-level initiatives for AI inclusion

Government of India’s New Education Policy (NEP) 2020
emphasizes the integration of AI curriculum at all educational
levels and aims to equip students with skills like digital
literacy, coding and computational thinking. CBSE introduced AI as
a subject for students in classes IX to XII, and has also partnered
with IBM to launch the SkillsBuild Program, which includes
orientation sessions on generative AI. In collaboration with Intel,
CBSE has also developed an AI Facilitator Handbook which provides
educators with comprehensive training materials and real-life
examples. From the 2025-26 sessions, the CISCE board has introduced
robotics and AI as part of its curriculum. AI/GenAI features
prominently in the curriculum of India’s top business schools,
including the IIMs and ISB.

Opportunities to learn from other countries

China is making substantial investments and offering tax
incentives and other motivators, in tools like the adaptive
tutoring platform Squirrel AI which leverage extensive datasets and
camera surveillance to enhance performance on standardized tests.
Finland has taken a bold national step towards AI-driven education
by providing free online coursework for its citizens. Approximately
50% of schools have adopted the ViLLE platform, which offers
instant feedback and analytical insights on student assignments to
both students and teachers. South Korea is making significant
investments in the education of its students. The country’s
goal is to incorporate AI coursework into its national curriculum
at all grade levels, with the initiative set to begin at the high
school level by 2025. Singapore is a leader in the use of
technology in education. The government has invested heavily in AI
for education and Singaporean schools and universities use GenAI
extensively.

Originally published by Lesson: How AI is activating step changes in
Indian education, ET Education

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