Artificial intelligence is emerging as a useful tool in classrooms. Teachers are using it to draft lesson plans, create exercises, explain complex concepts, and tailor materials to learners with different needs. However, access to a tool does not automatically make its use educationally sound. For African education systems, the central question is not simply how to introduce AI into schools, but how to prepare teachers to use it critically and safely in ways that respond to their classroom realities.
An October 2026 edition of EdTech Mondays Africa, convened by the Mastercard Foundation, brought together teachers and education leaders from Liberia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Zambia to examine what preparing learners for an AI-shaped world requires. The consensus was clear: AI can save teachers time, but without sustained training, reliable infrastructure, and teacher involvement in its design, the technology risks widening educational inequalities rather than addressing them.
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Teachers across the panel described how AI was helping to reduce lesson preparation time. Senegalese English teacher Mohamed Sané said the technology enables him to prepare more efficiently, leaving more time for student interaction. Zambian biology teacher Rhoda Namakao Muvita reported similar benefits. However, Tanzanian educator Fatna Waziri Senkondo highlighted a critical limitation: AI can produce convincing answers that are nevertheless incorrect. This distinction matters. A teacher who can verify and adapt AI-generated content uses the technology as an assistant, while one who accepts it uncritically risks passing errors on to learners.
As information becomes increasingly accessible, teachers are needed more than ever to help learners analyse, question, and apply knowledge. Nigerian education consultant Olasukanmi Opeifa described this shift directly, observing that “knowledge is now everywhere”. While an AI system can generate quiz questions, a teacher must determine whether they measure the intended skills and how best to respond when a student struggles. The teacher’s role is evolving, not disappearing, and professional preparation must reflect that reality.
The panel’s discussion aligns with UNESCO’s AI Competency Framework for Teachers, which outlines 15 competencies across five dimensions: a human-centred mindset, ethics of AI, AI foundations and applications, AI pedagogy, and AI for professional learning. The framework emphasises a broader approach than basic tool training, recognising that teachers must understand the technology’s limitations and its implications for learners and teaching practice. UNESCO’s International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) has also highlighted the limited availability of national frameworks for AI teacher training across the continent.
However, the promise of AI remains constrained by infrastructure. UNESCO data indicates that only 36% of primary schools in sub-Saharan Africa have access to electricity, an essential foundation for digital learning. A World Bank discussion paper cited in the panel notes that 89% of learners in sub-Saharan Africa lack a computer at home. A tool that works effectively in a well-connected urban school may be impractical in a rural classroom facing intermittent electricity, expensive data, or limited access to shared devices.
Robin Todd, executive director of Ghana’s T-TEL, argued that technology designers should begin with the challenges teachers face and develop solutions around those needs. Ghana offers an example of this approach. Following curriculum changes that placed greater emphasis on critical thinking, AI-enabled applications were developed in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service to support teachers in strengthening these skills.
Nigerian entrepreneur Emmanuel Akpan of AI Teacha also demonstrated the value of teacher involvement, bringing approximately 400 teachers into the platform’s design process. The initiative subsequently grew from around 14,000 to nearly 30,000 teachers, illustrating how educators’ participation can help shape solutions that respond to classroom needs.
In Liberia, Assistant Minister for STEM/TVET, Hon. Nathaniel K. Cisco Jr., described efforts to incorporate digital and AI literacy into teacher training while addressing critical thinking, child protection, and data privacy. Teacher educator Scholastica C. Lewis emphasised that distributing devices alone is insufficient; teachers must also develop the confidence and skills to use them effectively. This dual focus on technical capability and safeguarding reflects a growing recognition that AI adoption in education cannot be separated from child protection and data governance.
Educators called for sustained professional learning supported by devices, connectivity, and institutional commitment. A one-off workshop rarely provides teachers with sufficient time to practise, evaluate results, and adapt their teaching methods. Fatna Senkondo emphasised that investment must extend beyond isolated training sessions, giving teachers continuous opportunities to learn alongside the infrastructure needed to apply their skills. School leaders also have a responsibility to create time for practice and peer learning. Without support, expecting teachers to adopt new tools alongside already demanding workloads will likely result in uneven implementation.
Measuring progress also requires more than counting the number of accounts created or teachers trained. Meaningful indicators include teachers’ confidence in verifying AI-generated content, access to devices and connectivity, the accessibility of materials for learners with disabilities, the frequency and quality of classroom use, and evidence of improved learning outcomes. Evaluations should also compare results across rural and urban settings and schools with different levels of connectivity. Such measures can distinguish meaningful integration from simple technology distribution and identify where interventions need improvement.
Infrastructure gaps affect both teachers and students, and national programmes that overlook these differences risk widening the divide between schools that can use AI routinely and those that cannot. The World Bank’s gender digital skills analysis found that men in sub-Saharan Africa are 60% more likely than women to be able to perform at least one ICT-related task. Design choices such as mobile-friendly, low-bandwidth services, downloadable resources, offline functionality, and local-language content can help reduce these barriers. However, they cannot replace investment in electricity, connectivity, and devices.
Africa’s preparation for an AI-driven future depends on more than introducing software into classrooms. It requires sustained teacher development, reliable infrastructure, clear safeguards, and technology shaped by educators’ direct input. As Mohamed Sané emphasised, “Teachers should be among the first”. Investing in teachers means investing in every student they teach.
Ultimately, teachers who understand a tool’s capabilities and limitations can use it to support learning, while those left to navigate it alone cannot be expected to guarantee effective outcomes. New technologies will continue to shape education, but whether they strengthen African classrooms will depend on whether teachers have the skills, resources, and authority to influence how they are used.
