Education Leaders Urge Scalable AI Adoption Ahead of 2026

Education leaders and technology experts meeting in Mumbai ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 called for a systemwide rethink of education as AI reshapes learning models, assessment, and workforce preparation, emphasizing that equity and measurable outcomes must guide adoption.

“It is time to re-imagine our education system — what would it look like if it was born today — in the post connectivity and AI era?” says Shailesh Kumar, Chief Data Scientist, Jio, and Dean of Jio Institute. He says AI enables a shift away from standardized instruction toward personalized learning systems focused on mastery and thinking skills.

According to a press release, participants examined how AI-enabled education tools can be deployed to improve learning outcomes at scale, particularly in low-resource and multilingual environments. Organizers say the discussion aimed to move beyond pilot programs and address the structural conditions required for sustained impact within public education systems.

The dialogue took place as education systems globally enter what industry observers describe as a transition period. Fernando Valenzuela, President, Global Edtech Impact Alliance, says institutions are navigating a gap between the rapid availability of AI tools and their ability to integrate them into structured learning strategies.

“We are in a weird in-between moment for learning strategies,” Valenzuela says. While AI can generate, translate, and personalize content, he notes that many education systems still rely on manual processes to assess student readiness, progression, and learning effectiveness.

Roundtable participants discussed emerging AI use cases across personalized instruction, teacher support, assessment, and home-based learning, with particular focus on early childhood education and foundational literacy and numeracy. They also addressed barriers to scale, including cost structures, multilingual content development, data infrastructure, curriculum alignment, and the challenges of deploying AI within government systems.

Philanthropy was identified as a key enabler in bridging innovation and systemwide adoption. Participants say philanthropic capital can help de-risk early-stage ideas, support long-term evidence generation and strengthen organizational capacity. For example, the LiftEd EdTech Accelerator has reached more than 3 million children in underserved school and home-learning settings.

“Building AI and edtech for impact is not just about the technology itself — it is about understanding the ground realities of implementing it in classrooms, homes, and communities,” says Vanita Sharma, Adviser for Strategic Initiatives, Reliance Foundation.

Speakers also stressed that scaling AI-enabled learning is a systems challenge requiring coordination across policy, pedagogy, delivery models, and research. Gouri Gupta, Senior Project Director for Edtech, Central Square Foundation, says the sector’s next phase will focus on integrating proven solutions into government systems and community adoption models.

These discussions mirror trends observed in other markets, including Mexico. Laudex, a Mexico-based financial institution specializing in education, expects 2026 to consolidate a shift toward hybrid learning models, AI integration, and curricula aligned more closely with labor market needs. The organization reports growing demand for flexible education pathways and international academic mobility.

“One in three students applying for an education loan today plans to study outside Mexico,” says Francisco Cordero, CEO, Laudex, underscoring the rising importance of transferable skills and credentials.

Valenzuela says modern education increasingly operates through modular content assembled from publishers, open resources, and AI-generated materials. Without shared standards and interoperable frameworks, he said, institutions struggle to evaluate effectiveness or scale best practices.

Global online learning platforms are responding to these dynamics. In December 2025, Coursera and Udemy announced an all-stock merger valued at about US$2.5 billion, citing demand for faster skills development as AI reshapes labor markets. Coursera data shows that 88% of learners in Mexico use online courses to support career transitions or advancement.

In Mumbai, participants also raised governance concerns related to data use, transparency, and the protection of vulnerable learners. Many emphasized that teachers and parents remain central to learning, with AI functioning as a support tool rather than a replacement.