A quiet revolution is underway in the bustling classrooms of rural Malawi and under-resourced schools in Lagos. African youth are not shying away from artificial intelligence. We embrace artificial intelligence as a lifeline. “AI is like having a tutor available 24/7,” declared one young participant in a recent Global Campaign for Education focus group. From innovation hubs in Kenya to townships in South Africa, young people across the continent are using tools like ChatGPT and Canva to not only accomplish their challenges, but also dream bigger, like closing gaps in learning, empowering girls in STEM, and turning the digital divide into a path to equity. But as a new GCE report makes clear, this optimism comes with urgency. African youth and teachers are not simply technology enthusiasts. They are pragmatic visionaries who demand that AI serve the many, not the few. If we listen, their voices could redefine education on the continent.
The report, drawn from 194 young people, 36 youth organizations and 46 teachers across 31 countries, many in Africa, depicts AI as a “double-edged sword”. On the promising side, young people describe it as a “reinforcer” and “accelerant.” In Nigeria, students are using generative AI to summarize dense texts and brainstorm essays, freeing up time for deeper exploration. Teachers have expressed similar opinions. 71% have already integrated AI into lesson planning and content creation, and 50% are “very optimistic” about its role. “I went from being a lecturer to being a facilitator,” said one rural Kenyan educator, imagining AI taking care of the grunt work of administrators, allowing humans to focus on teaching. The potential of AI shines brightest for marginalized learners, such as those with disabilities and those living in remote areas. Young people propose offline solar power hubs in Ghana and Rwanda, turning unreliable power grids into innovation engines. As one Somali youth said: “AI will equalize us and make quality education accessible even in conflict zones.”
This genuine lens is no coincidence. Despite Africa’s harsh realities (Burundi’s internet penetration rate is only 11 percent, South Sudan’s electricity access is 5 percent), young people see AI as a “great leveler.” The report notes that 79% of youth organizations agree that access can be transformed, especially for girls who face gender barriers that complicate costs and cultural exclusion. At FGD, young women in Uganda and Tanzania welcomed AI as gender-neutral career guidance to counter stereotypes in biased datasets. Teachers are also aware of this. 39% see “high potential” for AI in gender-transformative education, including personalized STEM nudges for underserved girls. This is a fundamental reconfiguration. On a continent where 60 percent of teachers work in rural areas, AI is not a gadget. It is a tool for survival, for personalizing the pace of learning, and for amplifying voices long silenced by poverty and geography.
But here is the edge of the sword. Without safeguards, AI could deepen inequality. Young people’s attitudes are outspoken, with 91 per cent of organizations warning of an “urgent” risk of undermining critical thinking and fostering “intellectual laziness” as quick answers replace curiosity. “Rather than wrestle with ideas, I would rather copy and paste,” admitted one Zimbabwean student. Teachers agree, rating AI’s impact on problem solving and creativity as the lowest (averages of 2.65 and 2.77 on a 5-point scale). The digital chasm is the largest, with 85% citing lack of internet as a “serious barrier” and 73% of teachers reporting “limited or no access” to students’ homes. Layering on “Westernized” biases, English-centric tools that ignore local accents, history and Swahili proverbs, creates, in the words of a young Burundian, “data colonialism.” Premium “pay-to-win” features? A luxury for urban elites, turning education into an arms race where rural children are falling behind.
Teachers on the front lines of this battle are also acutely aware of the crisis. In South Africa and Ghana, 76% blame unreliable electricity for slowing adoption, but continue to innovate anyway, such as using free tiers for adaptive quizzes. What is their biggest fear? Devaluation, not job loss: 63% are concerned that AI will reduce their autonomy. And ironically, even though 63 percent simply think AI is “neutral,” 58 percent fear it will lead to a spike in inequality. This algorithmic blind spot requires literacy, not lectures. Half of teachers want training, 67% in technical skills and 65% in ethics. “We learned it ourselves,” laments an Iraqi-Palestinian educator, echoing the continent’s cry for investment.
As an African, I see this not as defeatism but as a clarion call. Young people and teachers are not anti-AI. They are anti-exclusionists. Their credo of “decide with us, not for us” denies any formality, with 50% criticizing superficial policy agreement. Africa’s patchwork of policies, such as Kenya’s AI curriculum push and Rwanda’s focus on ethics, calls for co-creation, including rule-making through youth and teacher councils, offline-first strategies, and publicly funded local AI ecosystems. Just imagine. Multilingual bots teach Ubuntu ethics, not Silicon Valley scripts.
This vision is not utopian. It’s mandatory. Africa’s young people, 70% of whom are under 30, cannot afford a technological future that ignores them. From Addis Ababa to Pretoria, policymakers must act. We need to make digital infrastructure a human right, make education data free and fund literacy campaigns. Teachers require pre-service training. Youth, advisory seat at the AU table. A civilian giant? Regulate relentlessly and ban surveillance tools and audit bias. As GCE recommends, develop a “responsible use” policy that promotes acceptance, not prohibition, and honesty rather than fraud.
African youth and teachers are not waiting for handouts. They are prototyping stocks. In their words, AI can heal divides if we build bridges. The question is not if, but how fast. Make up your mind with them before the sword cuts deep.
Satapathy, director of AFDC Global and principal investigator on a study on AI, education and African youth commissioned by the Global Campaign for Education in Johannesburg, South Africa, wrote (email protected)
