Ghana must not confuse access to AI tools with readiness for AI-powered education – KNUST AI coordinator

The Coordinator of AI Courses at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Eric Appau Asante, has called for practical national and institutional guidelines to regulate the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, warning that access to the technology alone does not guarantee its effective integration into teaching and learning.

He said clear guidelines were needed to ensure that AI was adopted responsibly and ethically, rather than allowing poorly regulated technologies to become embedded in educational practices without adequate consideration of their impact.

Speaking on the topic of AI in Teacher Education: Navigating Innovation and Implementation at the 17th congregation of Wesley College of Education, Prof. Appau Asante said teachers must develop the competence to use AI while maintaining the professional judgement required to guide the learning process.

He explained that the changing educational landscape required teachers to move beyond conventional teaching methods and incorporate artificial intelligence into curriculum development, lesson preparation and classroom instruction.

He stressed, however, that being familiar with AI tools was not enough, insisting that teachers must understand the ethical responsibilities that come with using the technology.

“...the teacher of today's world must be knowledgeable in the use of artificial intelligence, and our word is not just knowledgeable but rather they must be responsible in the use of the AI, and they must be guided by ethics,” he said.

Prof. Appau Asante cautioned against excessive reliance on AI, saying teachers must not allow the technology to undermine their wisdom, critical thinking and professional judgement.

He noted that while AI could improve teaching efficiency, reduce errors and help educators align their practices with international standards, its benefits depended on how effectively it was used.

“AI is just one of the tools and if you use it effectively it enhances your work, you grow less error and you match up with international best practice,” he said.

He warned that using AI indiscriminately without assessing the quality and accuracy of its outputs could compromise the benefits it offers to the education sector.

The KNUST professor also raised concerns about the potential for AI integration to widen existing inequalities in education, particularly if well-resourced urban schools gained greater benefits from the technology than rural institutions with limited access to digital infrastructure and other resources.

He said the adoption of AI must therefore be guided by measures that ensure its benefits are accessible across schools, rather than creating further disparities between institutions.

Meanwhile, the Principal of Wesley College of Education, Dr Kennedy Ameyaw Baah, said the focus of AI training for teachers must shift from acquiring knowledge of the technology to applying it in practical teaching situations.

He explained that implementation involved translating the knowledge gained through AI courses into classroom practice, while innovation required teachers to explore how the technology could help them develop lessons suited to the different learning needs of students.

“When we talk of implementation, we've taught them what AI is about. They've taken a lot of courses in AI. As they are going on, how are they going to use AI in teaching? That is implementation,” he said.

Dr Ameyaw Baah said teachers must also be able to use AI tools creatively to develop teaching materials and lessons that respond to the specific needs of their learners.

He said educators were expected to develop sufficient command of the tools to ensure that their application of AI translated into meaningful benefits for students.

“We expect them to leverage technology. We expect them to ensure that the AI tool that they are going to use, they have that command to use it to benefit the students or the learners,” he said.