China's AI classroom revolution begins to bear fruit

As a mathematics lesson begins at Beijing No. 13 Middle School, an artificial intelligence (AI) powered ‘agent’ has been processing student data for several weeks, analysing each pupil’s recent class participation, homework, and quiz results. Within minutes, the system generates a set of tailored questions for students at different learning levels and personalised post-class assignments, while teachers review and refine the AI-generated content before using it. This scene reflects a broader transformation in the world’s largest basic education system, which serves more than 220 million students, as China turns to AI to enhance the quality of basic education and better meet the needs of every student, following decades of expanding access to education and narrowing regional gaps. Having almost fully achieved universal enrolment in compulsory education, China is now shifting its focus from ensuring every child has access to school to providing higher-quality, more personalised education for each child. China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) calls for leveraging AI to transform education models and integrating the technology into every element, stage, and scenario of education. In April, the Ministry of Education launched an ‘AI Plus Education’ action plan to accelerate AI education in primary and secondary schools, promote interdisciplinary teaching, and expand the application of AI in classrooms. These policies are already taking shape across China. In Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, eastern China, an AI literacy class was introduced. Through the programme, students create digital avatars that introduce the city’s culture in the local dialect using generative AI. In Beijing, the AI ‘agent’ at Beijing No. 13 Middle School, through learning data analysis, can identify common learning gaps in a class as well as individual students’ strengths and weaknesses. The system also provides teachers with new ideas to enrich classroom activities using AI. For example, Zhang Meiya, a teacher at the school, worked with the AI system to transform abstract material to be closer to students’ daily lives, developing case studies on issues such as smart home privacy disputes and the spread of AI-generated hoaxes before teaching about citizens’ rights and responsibilities. At Beijing No. 35 High School, programming teacher Dong Yue sees another benefit. ‘Previously, we had to check each student’s code line by line, which took a lot of time and effort. Now the AI agent can complete the initial assessment very quickly,’ Dong said. The time saved is now used for designing lesson plans, providing individual guidance, and professional development, rather than repetitive assessment tasks. These changes are built on years of investment in digital education. China had achieved internet connectivity in all primary and secondary schools by 2020, laying the foundation for wider adoption of digital learning tools. AI is now widely seen as the next step in this transformation. The technology is also helping to bridge what has long been considered a difficult balance between standardised education and individualised learning. For Vice Minister of Education Wang Jiayi, this points to the future direction of education. Instead of a one-size-fits-all model, future education will provide individual learning pathways tailored to each student’s needs, with greater flexibility, learner autonomy, diverse evaluation, and personalised teaching becoming easier to realise, Wang said. However, educators caution that AI is still far from perfect. Current systems may struggle to accurately evaluate certain types of writing, such as travel essays, or to assess students’ reasoning processes in some mathematics problems. Data interoperability between different AI platforms also remains a challenge in some areas. ‘It is precisely because of this that the role of teachers is not diminished, but rather strengthened,’ said Wu Chunhui, vice principal of Beijing No. 13 Middle School. ‘AI is a tool. It cannot replace teachers in providing values-based guidance, intellectually inspiring students, or interacting empathetically with students in complex situations.’ Liu Jizhong, principal of Beijing No. 35 High School, believes that teachers will increasingly act as designers of learning experiences, supervisors of AI use, and guardians of technology ethics, rather than mere transmitters of knowledge. For educators, technology is not the end goal. Instead, AI is seen as a tool to help make quality education more accessible, while keeping the holistic development of students at the centre of learning. As Yao Xiaoying, principal of the Primary School Affiliated with Shenzhen University Education Group, put it, ‘Technology is merely the catalyst. What we truly want to ignite is the inner motivation of every child, the belief that “I want to learn, and I can do it.”’