By: Saidu Jalloh, Daily Scope Reporter
The government is moving to bring artificial intelligence into the classroom, joining a new international study with Google DeepMind and Fab AI aimed at improving mathematics outcomes for students.
The partnership was announced Wednesday at a high-level breakfast briefing on AI in education held at Google’s London office. Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education Conrad O. Sackey and Deputy High Commissioner Yvonne King Odigboh represented the government at the event, hosted under the Global Alliance for AI in Education and the Quality Assurance Facility for AI in Education.
The study will test how AI tools can be applied responsibly in schools to strengthen foundational numeracy. It forms part of a wider push to ensure emerging technologies are evidence-based and tailored to contexts in developing countries.
Speaking at the briefing, Minister Sackey said education remains central to President Julius Maada Bio’s development agenda. He pointed to progress under the Free Quality School Education Programme, which has raised enrolment from under 2 million to more than 3.1 million pupils since 2018, while expanding access for girls and learners with disabilities.
“Access alone is not enough,” Sackey said. “We must now ensure that children are not only in school, but learning effectively.”
He highlighted the scale of the challenge across Sub-Saharan Africa, where many children cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10. The government, he said, is prioritizing foundational literacy and numeracy through innovation and partnerships.
Sackey praised Google DeepMind and Fab AI for focusing on solutions grounded in classroom realities. “The question is not whether AI will transform education — it will,” he said. “The real question is who benefits first, and whether children in the Global South are included from the very beginning.”
The minister stressed that any AI introduced must be safe, effective, culturally relevant, and aligned with African educational needs.
Also attending were Lans Kelfala, Chairman of the Sierra Leone Teaching Service Commission, and Josephine Saidu, CEO of Teach for Sierra Leone, an organization supporting teacher recruitment and training. The panel included Dr. Benjamin Piper of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Irina Jurenka, Director of Research at Google DeepMind, and Wongani Grace Nkhoma-Sankofa of UNICEF.
The briefing provided a platform for governments, researchers, and technology partners to discuss how AI can be integrated responsibly to raise learning outcomes across Africa.
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