Use of AI in the Indian Education System: Panacea or Poison? 

“Indian Educators Express Concerns Over AI Adoption in Education, Ban AI Tools for Annual Exams”

Indian educators have expressed concerns about the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in education and have banned the use of AI tools such as ChatGPT for annual exams. Educators fear that AI could encourage academic misconduct, laziness, screen time, and learning from inaccurate sources. Additionally, the Indian education system values rote learning, which fails to develop critical thinking skills and leads to sub-par degrees, as evidenced by 80% of engineering graduates being unemployable. 

The solution is to rethink the teaching and learning methods and strategies, complementing AI with interactive pedagogical practices that promote creativity and critical thinking. Participative learning methods such as the Think-Pair-Share (TPS) strategy can foster communication skills and improve critical thinking and reflection. Moreover, AI can help reduce teachers’ workload, and there is more time to focus on students. However, the optimal integration of AI into the education sector requires a critical reflection on policy viability and critical infrastructure. 

The widespread adoption of technology in the education sector remains a distant possibility, as India has a massive digital divide, with 70% of Indians having poor or no internet connectivity and access to digital services. Access to and use of the internet are further divided along income, geography, caste, and gender parameters. Government schemes like Digital India, BharatNet, National Digital Literacy Mission, and the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan are far behind in meeting their objectives. 

Therefore, ground-level policy interventions are crucial for the promotion of equitable and inclusive use of AI. In conclusion, the mainstreaming of AI in education signifies that there should be rigorous endeavours to find new pathways, rethinking the role of teachers in classrooms and promoting critical thinking and creativity in students, while ensuring equitable and inclusive access to AI.