Challenges and opportunities for education in the era of AI | Experts’ Opinions

In today’s world of social media, artificial intelligence (AI), online platforms, and the almost absolute freedom to post or share information, education seems to be the only remaining way for younger generations to cultivate critical thinking, assertiveness, and a future that is based on facts rather than speculation. However, digitization and the rise of AI has transformed the landscape of education, bringing both unprecedented opportunities for innovation and significant challenges for a sector that has not yet fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. In this rapidly changing environment, it is essential to understand how education can remain inclusive and equitable. As we observe Education Day on the 24th of January, let’s take a moment for reflection via the lenses of the experts’ opinions shared below. What will be the most significant challenges in the education sector in 2025, and how can they be addressed?

DevelopmentAid: What are the most significant challenges in the education sector in 2025, and how can these be addressed?

“Necessitated and enabled by AI, education is already undergoing a fundamental transformation – a teaching and learning revolution, which responds to the dual nature – tangible and virtual – of contemporary consciousness. Schools, as we know them now, are products of the Industrial Revolution, reflecting 19th-century factory conditions, not to mention 20th-century bureaucratic arrangements. There seems to be a virtually unquestioned belief that AI will be incorporated into a static world of buildings called schools and colleges, content called curricula, knowledge fonts called teachers, and sorting mechanisms called exams. Education in the coming years will be learner-led with secondary schools, colleges and universities as processes and with teachers and lecturers fulfilling exciting new meta and supportive roles. Given this transformation, the basic challenge before us involves determining what and where the major educational roadblocks are in a rapidly evolving world, agreeing on how those may best be confronted and overcome by humankind, in careful and creative partnership with benign AI, and determining how such a worldwide action plan may be effectively implemented and sustainably maintained.”

“I believe one of the greatest challenges in the education sector in 2025 will be understanding and adapting to the rapid advances in AI. If we assume that AI today is at the maturity level of a seven-year-old, it could soon surpass adolescence and perhaps reach ‘adulthood’. As no humans are evolving at that speed, this evolution pushes us to confront a fundamental question: What does it mean to be human in a world of expanded intelligence? AI’s self-generative capabilities will force educators and institutions to shift paradigms, moving away from traditional curricula to systems that embrace creativity, ethical reasoning, and critical thinking. Education should prepare students to coexist with AI and to leverage it responsibly, to enhance human ingenuity rather than replace it. This challenge requires collaboration across various disciplines, combining technology, ethics, and pedagogy. Addressing it will demand flexible frameworks that prepare students for uncertainty while emphasizing essential human traits such as empathy, innovation, and adaptability. This is not solely a technological or educational challenge but a fundamentally philosophical one, requiring us to redefine the essence of humanity in an AI-driven world.”

DevelopmentAid: How can education systems ensure equitable access to quality education, particularly for marginalized groups, in an era of rapid technological change?

“The objective should be equity of outcomes across nations and communities and in terms of gender, disability, geographical and other forms of disadvantage. The emerging transformation will undoubtedly offer increasingly clear paths towards worldwide parity of educational outcomes. Herein lies the real opportunity: let education be planned, structured, funded and delivered on international rather than national bases. Every educational institution (from secondary school onwards) may be open to any learner anywhere, along with the availability of any curriculum, any course, and any lesson. Let everyone, worldwide, participate in the ongoing universal educational process, deriving enjoyment in learning and, if and as desired, obtaining vocational and other skills and qualifications. We must act decisively, ensuring that the promise of AI in education becomes a reality for all and not for just a privileged few. What might have been perceived as a wild dream a decade or so ago is now entering the realm of the feasible, soon to become the commonplace. AI makes worldwide educational equity achievable – our common humanity makes it imperative.”

“Ensuring equitable access to education in 2025 will require a shift from providing information to fostering the skills needed to critically engage with it. The key to growth lies in learning to ask the right questions, regardless of social status or the technological advances in our environment. Knowledge is now accessible to anyone; the issue is not a lack of information but rather how to effectively utilize it. Education systems must horizontalize knowledge sources, recognizing the value of diverse mediums – from traditional books and lectures to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. These unconventional platforms increasingly democratize access to high-quality content, bridging gaps for underserved communities. However, access alone is not enough. Governments, educators, and the private sector must prioritize digital literacy; ensuring learners can navigate, evaluate, and apply digital resources meaningfully. Collaboration is essential to build infrastructure, train teachers, and create inclusive ecosystems where all individuals can thrive regardless of socioeconomic status. True empowerment comes from ensuring everyone has the tools to actively participate in the knowledge economy and contribute to their communities.”

“To achieve equitable access to quality education, particularly for marginalized groups, education systems must set uniform goals for all learners, teaching staff and education leaders, while designing and implementing public policies and programs tailored to the specific needs and realities of each region and social group within their jurisdiction. These initiatives should be supported by sufficient budgets to address these differences effectively, including allocations for contingencies such as infrastructure rehabilitation in the event of natural disasters or domestic or international conflicts. In the context of rapid technological change, leveraging technology is essential. This includes ensuring meaningful and affordable connectivity as a prerequisite for accessing Information and Communication Technologies, providing teacher and students training in technology use, and developing adaptive learning platforms that account for students’ unique circumstances. By addressing individual conditions and needs, these measures aim to bridge gaps and place marginalized learners on an equal footing with those who do not face such disadvantages.”

DevelopmentAid: Will there be any consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on education in 2025, and what ongoing efforts are being made to address these?

“The pandemic necessitated an immediate and inspirational online educational response paving the way towards a more equitable, ethical, and enjoyable (and far less competitive, test-oriented and world-of-work-dominated) system. Billions of learners are yearning for education. Instead, nine-tenths of them are fobbed off with job preparation – and discriminatory job preparation at that. While the pandemic brought with it a new sense of awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of our societies, this emerging consciousness has yet to develop an international dimension. The responses to COVID-19 were essentially ‘My Nation First’, despite the pandemic being an on-going universal threat. Just as stopping slavery failed to halt the gigantic system of trade and exploitation that it had spawned, so it is in development aid generally, and in support for education specifically, where the privileged pose as beneficent donors while acting as Dickensian landlords. Despite such protocols as the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, each development partner still demands that beneficiaries follow its own customized, frequently byzantine, essentially demeaning processes and documentation. In essence, the beneficiaries should manage educational aid.”

“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on education remain evident in 2025, not only in logistical changes but in the social transformations it accelerated. Young people were particularly affected, with movements like Fridays for Future initiating discussions about sustainability, consumption, and mobility within families, reshaping intergenerational dynamics. Yet, one of the most enduring challenges is the rise of intolerance between ideologies and generations. Lockdowns forced close proximity, amplifying value differences, while isolation deepened divides. These tensions are now visible in classrooms and workplaces, complicating collaboration across generational lines. To address this, education systems must actively foster dialogue and rebuild trust. Creating safe spaces for intergenerational exchange and promoting empathy is essential. Additionally, mental health support is vital to heal the emotional scars left by the pandemic. By addressing these divides head-on, education can help to rebuild a more cohesive and resilient society that is equipped to navigate future crises together.”

DevelopmentAid: How should curricula evolve to prepare students for future challenges, including the rise of AI and the transformation of job markets?

“With AI, all jobs are evolving, some are disappearing, while fresh ones are emerging, resulting in significant labor market disruption. As education gears itself to enable these developments to occur with optimum benefits, so also will governments, professional bodies and employers gear their own specifications to the changing nature of every category of job. Assessment, credentials and linkages with the evolving world of work will alter as the world of work itself emerges into the post-digital situation. Let it be recognised that, with learners specifying their own curricula, employment requirements will lose their dominance. From early-secondary school, and onwards throughout life, the learners taking over the responsibility for their own learning is entirely appropriate to the nature and demands of post-digital society. With the arrival of AI, nothing educationally will or ever should be the same. Preparation for the world of work is no longer the goal, just as selection through examination is replaced by feedback for individual information. In a scenario where jobs are significantly impacted, the high school years could shift focus away from employability, allowing education to pivot all the more towards cultivating students’ identity, agency, and especially their motivation and purpose for a job-scarce world.”

“Curricula in 2025 must prepare students for a world defined by uncertainty, technological innovation, and changing labor markets. At its core, education must instill confidence in the future while fostering adaptability, creativity, and a sense of purpose. Breaking down silos between disciplines is essential. Combining fields like data science with environmental studies or integrating art with technology prepares students to tackle global challenges holistically. Curricula should prioritize instrumental skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving to empower students to actively shape real markets and social systems. However, education’s ultimate goal goes beyond workforce readiness – it is about nurturing individuals who find joy and meaning in their contributions to the world. A balanced curriculum must integrate emotional intelligence, ethical reasoning, and community values. By developing well-rounded individuals, education can cultivate creators and innovators who thrive personally and professionally, fostering a happier, more harmonious society.”

DevelopmentAid: How can education systems empower teachers to incorporate AI in their classrooms while maintaining the human element in learning?

“Letting the learners lead should characterize education’s forthcoming, fundamental transformation. This would involve, whether in class or online, face-to-face or at a distance, teachers being enabled to come into their own in advising, supporting, coaching and encouraging (but never directing let alone failing) learners. With a world of information and ideas at their fingertips, learners now call upon teachers for support rather than leadership, for guidance as opposed to discipline, and for encouragement instead of assessment, thereby offering an enhanced and more professionally rewarding role. Disciplining, chastising and punishing will be eliminated in favor of responding, guiding and encouraging. The expenditure necessary to significantly upgrade infrastructure or employ sufficient well-qualified teachers – and to pay them properly – will not be forthcoming in the current setting. As the transformation takes place, the need will be for sufficient, suitable and enthusiastic teachers to enable successful primary school completion and then to support learners, from post-primary and throughout life. This will involve having far fewer but better remunerated teachers, playing supportive and professionally satisfying roles, allowing the recurrent costs to become affordable.”

“Incorporating AI into classrooms without losing the human element requires a rethinking of the teacher’s role. Traditional hierarchies are being disrupted as students increasingly rely on AI tools for information. Teachers must embrace a new role as co-pupils, learning alongside their students. This transformation demands humility and adaptability. Teachers must guide students in asking better questions and foster an environment of curiosity and mutual respect. Training should not only cover AI tools but also critical evaluation skills, enabling students to contextualize AI-generated content responsibly. Maintaining the human element requires prioritizing empathy, ethics, and creativity in teaching. Educators must model these qualities, demonstrating how technology can complement rather than replace human learning. Balancing the immediacy of digital tools with the deeper, reflective processes of critical thinking will be essential. By embracing dialogue and innovation, teachers can ensure that AI enhances the richness of the learning experience while preserving the values that define us as humans.”

See also: Do unprecedented drops in student performance signal a global education crisis? | Experts’ Opinions

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