In classrooms across Ghana, students bend over smartphones, eyes fixed on a screen as their virtual math tutor, Rori, guides them through lessons on fractions and probabilities via WhatsApp. For many, it’s the first time technology has been used to support their learning, offering a glimpse of how artificial intelligence could reshape education in low- and middle-income countries.
Similar pilots are emerging across the global south, from AI tutors and chatbots to early-grade reading apps and automated assessment tools. They promise not only personalized instruction for learners, but also support for teachers — from planning lessons, setting tests, and marking homework. For education systems where one teacher may be responsible for 80 children or more, the potential is obvious. The question is whether AI can deliver it.
Experts caution that AI’s potential is constrained by structural barriers — overburdened teachers, limited funding, unreliable connectivity, and shifting data-protection rules.
About the author
Sophie Edwards
Sophie Edwards is a Devex Contributing Reporter covering global education, water and sanitation, and innovative financing, along with other topics. She has previously worked for NGOs, and the World Bank, and spent a number of years as a journalist for a regional newspaper in the U.K. She has a master's degree from the Institute of Development Studies and a bachelor's from Cambridge University.
