Schools in the UAE look for best way to bring AI into the classroom

Artificial intelligence use in schools is “an inevitability”, but finding the right balance between embracing the technology and maintaining traditional teaching techniques is the key to success, the head of the Middle East’s largest private education group has said.

Dino Varkey, group chief executive at Gems Education, said it spent “a lot of time” as educators try to determine how AI can be used more effectively in schools.

Tools including ChatGPT are used worldwide, causing debate over how best to bring them into the classroom. Mr Varkey is well aware that schools have to change to get the best out of the technology, with assessment a particular area of focus.

“Typically what you're trying to do, as AI is encroaching much more into our daily lives … the nature of the assessments that we perhaps need to do with our students needs to change and be transformed a little bit,” he said.

He was speaking at the Gems Awareness Day on Wednesday, where more than 1,700 newly recruited teachers for this academic year were being welcomed.

How will AI change testing?

When asked whether pupils would face disciplinary action for using generative AI tools like ChatGPT to write essays, Mr Varkey said traditional take-home essay assignments are “the wrong type of assessment” in the modern world.

He suggested pupils could instead be tasked with using AI tools for research at home and then produce written work independently in class.

“In an exam situation, it's different. But if you're going to ask a child today to go and write an essay on something at home and bring it back, then that's actually not the right assessment,” he said. “We have tools to allow us to be able to identify things that are clearly sort of written and or produced with the use of AI. But again, I would argue that the assessments need to change.”

How will AI be used in schools?

Mr Varkey was speaking behalf of Gems, a private educator, and while all private school groups across the UAE are looking at AI use, each has a slightly different approach.

However, in government schools new AI classes are to be introduced across all stages of government education in the UAE from reception to grade 12 starting from the coming 2025/26 academic year.

“The subject will matter on teaching students how to use artificial intelligence in an ethical and responsible way,” Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of Education, said at an event on Tuesday.

“In the first and second cycle, there will be one class every two weeks focused on raising awareness towards the benefits and potential harms of AI, while on the third cycle it will be focused on using AI effectively.”

The subject will be taught by the same teachers that teach computer science; they were trained specifically to teach AI for this year. Additionally, there will be a specialised committee that makes sure the subject is being taught effectively.

Focus on human values

Mr Varkey agrees for private sector schools, stressing that it is important to be aware of not just the benefits of AI but also the potential harms. He stressed that essential skills such as memory-building and critical thinking are important.

“The chair of our council, Baroness Spielman, would tell you that actually the use of AI in perhaps a more typical manner will lead to cognitive debt,” he said. “That effectively means that a student’s ability to retain something in the long-term memory can be completely impacted. There is a lot to do in terms of being able to use AI in the most effective manner.”

Lisa Crausby, group chief education officer at Gems, added: “It has a value. What we're saying, though, is that you still need all the other knowledge components and skills.

“As everybody's trying to lean into AI, we're actually shining a really big spotlight on our values, because you don't want to lose that. It’s one thing AI can't offer.”

The UN culture agency (Unesco) said that there was a lack of guidance worldwide on how AI should used in classrooms to improve learning outcomes.

It said that its research in 2022 showed that only 15 countries had included AI learning objectives in their national curriculum, but only half of them had developed AI frameworks or programmes for teachers.

New teachers recruited

The academic year starts on August 25 in the UAE, with Gems welcoming more than 1,700 newly recruited teachers across the country and Qatar.

That is a drop from last year’s 1,850 new recruits, but Ms Crausby said it was a “good sign” because the retention rate is improving.

Taaleem, which operates more than 30 schools in the UAE, said they had a 25 per cent increase from last year in the number of new educators.

“Taaleem has seen a significant increase in teacher recruitment this academic year, reflecting both the population boom across the country and the continued growth of our schools,” the group told The National. “In August alone, we successfully onboarded more than 500 new teachers, alongside senior leaders, learning assistants and administrative staff.”

Taaleem said it was seeing a “strong interest” from teachers abroad who are interested to work in the UAE.

It said their new hiring model means they start recruitment planning a year in advance and recommended teachers to demonstrate “adaptability, cultural awareness and commitment to professional development”.