Whether you like it or not, high school and university students are increasingly using AI in their studies — the question is whether local educational establishments are ready. While proponents of AI in education point to the technology as an invaluable tool that will deepen student engagement and aid learning, others see it as a threat that opens the door for plagiarism and the dumbing down of education.

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Educators will have to face this new reality in the new academic year, with the vast majority of all high school and university students now using AI — whether constructively or not — to varying degrees. AI leaders like Google are eager to play a part, offering students in Egypt and Saudi Arabia the paid Pro version of their chatbot Gemini and other AI tools for a year at no charge.

At a ministerial level, getting ready for AI has long been on the agenda, with the state recognizing the need not just to accept that students will use AI in their studies, but that it is a subject and tool that should be actively taught. AI will be added as a subject for first-year secondary school students starting next academic year, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly has recently confirmed. The Education Ministry has been looking carefully at how to introduce AI to schools, including reviewing successful international experiences and analyzing the compatibility of AI tools with Egypt’s educational environment, Education Minister Mohamed Abdel Latif previously told the press. While it won’t count toward their GPA, it will be a pass-or-fail subject.

Universities and students have also shown an increased interest in AI, with students flocking to AI-related programs, a source at the Ministry of Higher Education told EnterpriseAM. Egypt is home to 92 AI institutes, including 27 faculties in public universities offering AI courses and degrees, such as Cairo University and Ain Shams University, according to Unesco’s Egypt Artificial Intelligence Readiness Assessment Report (pdf). These also include 20 faculties in private universities, 20 faculties in national universities, 10 faculties in international universities, and 15 high institutes. Data from the Higher Education Ministry shows the number of students in these programs currently stands at 106.4k.

Egyptian universities are already equipped with the proper infrastructure, trained staff, as well as material and human capabilities for the leap forward, the source said. AI technologies are also being used in academic advising, university admissions, and credit hours to enhance the capabilities of Egyptian universities to keep pace with the requirements of the labor market.

Demand for interactive and online education has been increasing by the day since the launch of the Egyptian E-learning University, which was ahead of the boom the world is currently witnessing in the use of technology in education, E-learning University President Hesham Abdelsalam told EnterpriseAM. The university currently offers three educational programs — business administration, computers and information technology, and educational studies. The university is planning to expand its offering to five new faculties, including engineering, media, law, and languages, Abdelsalam said.

Ignoring AI now risks ignoring a pressing need of tomorrow’s labor market, so focusing on AI now is important to maintaining and improving Egypt’s educational ranking, British International School Cairo (BISC) Chairman Ahmed Samir told EnterpriseAM. Many private and international schools are already getting ready for this, along with state schools and higher education establishments offering AI-related courses, Samir added.

Some schools are already training their staff to integrate AI into their curricula. For example, private school Al Hossam International Schools has inked protocols with the Education Ministry to train and qualify staff in AI integration, Chairman Mandouh El Husseiny told EnterpriseAM. El Husseiny finds that modern tech and teaching methods have already delivered impressive results, and they are helping public school teachers get ready to teach AI and programming.

Some international schools feel they have an AI headstart, having adopted online classes and other tools during the Covid-19 pandemic that have parallels to how education will transform with the integration of AI, Samir told us.

Weak infrastructure in public schools remains one of the biggest challenges, the director of an education department in one of the country’s governorates told EnterpriseAM. The lack of properly equipped labs, computers, or smart boards — especially in older schools — makes it difficult to meet the requirements for teaching AI subjects, the official added. However, they hope that the shortage of devices will gradually be addressed and that a sufficient number of devices will be provided for students to use as the government continues its push for digital transformation in education.

Your top education story for the week: The Central Bank of Egypt and the Higher Education Ministry signed two cooperation protocols to provide scholarships for outstanding but underprivileged students — including those affected by the suspension of the USAID scholarship program — starting this academic year, according to a statement (pdf).