KHDA To Set Clear Direction On AI, Technology Use In Dubai Schools

Dubai's education authority is working on a policy framework to guide schools on the use of artificial intelligence and technology in classrooms, with a focus on when digital tools genuinely strengthen student learning rather than simply increasing technology use.

Aisha Miran, Director-General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), said on Thursday that the authority was looking at international developments as some education systems reconsider their reliance on devices and move back towards more traditional methods such as pen and paper.

“One of the major projects we're working on is enabling policy for our education system in Dubai,” Miran said during a KHDA Media Majlis.

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She said the authority had been receiving feedback on technology use in education and was studying how different countries were responding to the issue.

“We are getting a lot of feedback, and I've been receiving lots (queries), and we've been following many countries that are now abandoning the iPad and technology going back, to old-fashioned pen and paper,” she said.

Aisha Miran says Dubai's education authority is working on a policy framework to help schools decide when technology and AI can strengthen learning - while giving them flexibility and responsibility.

Rather than taking a blanket approach to technology, Miran said KHDA wanted to establish clear principles for schools, while allowing them room to make decisions based on their own circumstances.

“We wanted, first of all, to have a very clear direction as KHDA on the use of AI and technology, and the whole intention is when is the right time to use it in order to strengthen student learning,” she said.

The discussion around technology in schools also extends to mobile phones, with Miran revealing that a lobby had even previously pushed for phones to be banned from schools.

“There were lots of talks and discussions, even on mobile use. Some of the senior officers who came to me saying, 'Please ban phones from the schools',” she said.

Miran said KHDA had debated the issue internally but ultimately wanted schools to retain a degree of accountability, responsibility and flexibility.

“We had a huge debate internally as the KHDA about this, and we like to give schools accountability, responsibility, and some sort of flexibility,” she said.

The approach, she said, is rooted in the idea that schools have a role in helping students develop judgement around technology rather than simply shielding them from it.

Miran pointed out that students spend only part of their day within school boundaries before returning to a wider world where technology is deeply embedded.

“At the end of the day, that student is within the boundaries of a school for a certain number of hours, and then into this massive world after that,” she said.

The wider objective, she added, is to help students understand how to use technology responsibly and make appropriate choices about when it should - and should not - be used.

“Our intention is to educate them on how they can become responsible members of society and responsible individuals, to know what is right or wrong and when to use and not to use it.”

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