Revolutionizing education: KP launches Pakistan’s first public sector virtual school with AI teacher
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government has launched Pakistan’s first public sector virtual school, marking a significant step in modernizing the education system. Alongside this ground-breaking development, the government has also introduced an Artificial Intelligence (AI) teacher to enhance the learning experience for students.
The announcement came during a key meeting of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, chaired by Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi. The departmental briefing included many other reforms in the field of education, such as the formation of virtual schools and teaching systems that would use artificial intelligence technology.
At the meeting, the provincial government informed about the plan to build the first-ever virtual school in Pakistan, powered by AI teachers. Further, the CM Sohail Afridi also provided his in-principle approval for the AI Education Authority and asked the authorities involved in the process to complete the preparations.
“We will offer the same equal opportunities to the students, whether they live outside the country or even if they have left school. They will be regarded as normal students because of virtual schools,” the Chief Minister of KP said while addressing the meeting.
Further, it was stated by the chief minister that with the help of AI technology, students can study according to their comfort level, and using an AI teacher will reduce the workload of humans and enhance the quality of teaching.
“The launch of virtual schools and AI teachers has become an important step toward fulfilling the needs of our province’s education. It will be able to provide the students with quality education irrespective of their location,” Afridi said.
Furthermore, information was provided about the beginning of the project, stating that of the 46 government schools in the province, 33 have settled districts and 13 have merged districts, which were switched to the online education system. The provincial government will make efforts to expand its virtual education schools further, as the launch of virtual schools is expected in June under the Annual Development Plan. In the upcoming phase, 175 schools will be turned into virtual schools.
For this purpose, a digital teaching studio has already been established, which provides live online classes and recorded lectures to the students. The AI teacher has started providing online classes on different topics like English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Moreover, the system will be available in many languages, such as Urdu, English, and Pashto around the clock.
The total approved amount of funds for the project comes to PKR 153.80 million, out of which PKR 44.85 million would be utilized for setting up a Tele-Education Centre.
At the end of the discussion, Chief Minister Afridi asked the concerned officials to proceed quickly with the completion of this project so that the students of the province can get access to modern education facilities.
Apart from the Chief Minister, important participants of this discussion were Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Ameer Sultan Tareen, Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education Muhammad Khalid, and other high-ranking officers.
