PARIS, Oct 19: UNESCO has called on governments and education authorities to adopt a more balanced approach to digital learning, stressing that technology should support classroom teaching rather than replace direct interaction between teachers and students.
In an article published on Monday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization revisited findings from its 2023 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, Technology in Education: A Tool on Whose Terms? The report urges countries to make decisions about educational technology according to students’ needs, the quality of available evidence and the resources required to sustain digital systems.
The agency’s recommendations come as digital platforms, online learning materials and artificial intelligence increasingly influence how educational institutions deliver lessons and assess student performance. While these tools can expand access to information and offer additional learning opportunities, UNESCO cautions that their benefits depend on how they are introduced and used.
The organisation has outlined four key considerations for policymakers and education stakeholders: whether a technology is appropriate for the learning objective, whether it is equitable, whether it can be scaled effectively and whether it is sustainable over the long term.
The framework places the quality of education at the centre of technology-related decisions. Rather than treating digital equipment or online platforms as solutions in themselves, UNESCO argues that institutions should establish whether a particular tool produces meaningful educational benefits and whether students and teachers have the support needed to use it effectively.
Technology cannot replace effective teaching
UNESCO has warned that the learning benefits associated with digital tools can disappear when technology is used excessively or introduced without qualified teachers.
Providing students with computers, for example, does not automatically improve academic performance. The equipment must be accompanied by appropriate teaching methods, suitable learning materials and guidance from trained educators.
The agency has also highlighted concerns about smartphones in classrooms. Although mobile devices can provide access to educational resources, they can distract students when their use is not properly managed. According to the report, fewer than a quarter of countries prohibit smartphones in schools.
The findings underline the importance of defining clear educational objectives before introducing new devices or applications. Technology may be useful for explaining difficult concepts, supporting independent practice or making selected learning resources more accessible. However, its usefulness depends on the subject, the age of the learner and the quality of instruction surrounding it.
Direct engagement with teachers remains important for developing understanding, correcting mistakes and encouraging students to ask questions. Classroom discussions also help learners build communication skills and learn to evaluate different viewpoints.
UNESCO’s position does not reject digital education. Instead, it calls for a model in which technology complements established teaching practices and is adopted only when it offers a meaningful advantage.
This distinction has become particularly relevant as schools and universities consider artificial intelligence tools that can generate explanations, summarise material and assist with written assignments. Such applications may help students explore subjects, but their outputs require critical evaluation and may not always be accurate.
Education systems therefore need to help students understand both the benefits and limitations of digital tools. The objective is to ensure that technology strengthens independent thinking rather than encouraging learners to accept automatically generated information without scrutiny.
Unequal access remains a major concern
The second principle in UNESCO’s framework focuses on equity. The agency has warned that digital learning can widen existing educational inequalities if students do not have reliable internet connections, suitable devices or access to relevant learning materials.
The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the scale of the challenge. According to UNESCO’s report, the rapid shift to online education left at least half a billion students worldwide without access to remote learning, disproportionately affecting children from poorer households and rural communities.
The problem extends beyond internet availability. Students may share devices with family members, lack a quiet place to study or struggle to afford data services. In some communities, schools also face shortages of electricity and basic infrastructure.
These barriers can prevent learners from benefiting from digital programmes even when the content itself is freely available.
UNESCO has noted that one in four primary schools globally lacks electricity. It has called on countries to establish benchmarks for connecting schools to the internet by 2030, with particular attention to communities that face the greatest disadvantages.
The findings suggest that technology policies need to be accompanied by investments in essential infrastructure. Providing online lessons without ensuring that students can access them risks leaving the most vulnerable learners further behind.
Equity also involves the language and relevance of educational content. UNESCO cited an analysis showing that nearly 90 per cent of higher education online repositories originated in Europe or North America, while 92 per cent of the material in the OER Commons global library was in English.
Such imbalances can limit the usefulness of digital resources for students who learn in other languages or require material adapted to their local circumstances.
Developing more multilingual content and supporting locally relevant learning resources could help institutions make digital education more inclusive. Schools must also consider whether materials reflect students’ educational levels and cultural contexts.
Governments urged to assess costs and evidence
UNESCO’s third principle concerns scalability. Before investing in a technology, education authorities should establish whether it works, whether its benefits can be demonstrated and whether the system can be maintained across different institutions.
The agency has highlighted a shortage of strong, independent evidence on the effectiveness of many educational technology interventions. It cited findings from the United States’ What Works Clearinghouse indicating that fewer than two per cent of the education interventions assessed had strong or moderate evidence of effectiveness.
\The report also cautions against relying exclusively on evidence supplied by technology companies. Independent evaluation is important because vendors may have commercial interests in promoting their own products.
For governments and school administrations, the cost of a digital initiative extends beyond the initial purchase of devices or software. Institutions may also need to pay for maintenance, connectivity, technical assistance, staff training and periodic replacement of equipment.
A programme that appears affordable during its launch may become difficult to sustain if these recurring expenses are not considered in advance.
UNESCO has warned that the financial demands of digital transformation could place additional pressure on education budgets, particularly in countries where schools continue to lack basic facilities. Its report estimated that moving to basic digital learning in low-income countries and connecting all schools to the internet in lower-middle-income countries could increase the existing financing gap for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 by 50 per cent.
The agency’s argument is that education authorities should compare the expected benefits of a technology with its full costs. Investments must be evaluated against other urgent priorities, including trained teachers, classroom facilities, learning materials and support for disadvantaged students.
Pilot projects and independent assessments can help decision-makers identify which tools deliver results before committing to large-scale implementation.
AI skills and teacher training need attention
The fourth principle addresses sustainability, including the ability of education systems to adapt to changing technologies while protecting students’ interests.
Artificial intelligence has increased the importance of digital literacy, information evaluation and critical thinking. Students need to understand how to use online resources responsibly, identify unreliable claims and recognise potential security threats.
UNESCO reported that 54 per cent of countries had defined the digital skills they wanted to develop for the future, but only 11 of 51 governments surveyed had AI-related curricula.
The findings point to a gap between the growing influence of AI and the preparation provided through formal education. Introducing new software alone will not close that gap. Students require structured guidance on responsible use, while teachers need training to integrate emerging tools into lessons without weakening academic standards.
Educators also need support in dealing with issues such as plagiarism, the verification of AI-generated information and the appropriate use of digital assessments. Schools and universities must establish clear expectations so that students understand when technological assistance is acceptable and when work must demonstrate their own knowledge.
Teacher preparation remains an important part of this process. UNESCO said only half of countries had standards for developing teachers’ information and communication technology skills, while cybersecurity received limited attention in many training programmes. The report also noted that five per cent of ransomware attacks target the education sector.
Digital security is therefore not simply a technical matter for institutional administrators. Teachers and students need to recognise suspicious messages, protect account information and understand the risks associated with sharing personal data online.
Student privacy must be protected
The protection of children’s information is another concern raised by UNESCO. Digital learning platforms can collect information about students’ activities, performance and behaviour. Without adequate safeguards, such data may be exposed or used in ways that students and families do not fully understand.
The report stated that only 16 per cent of countries explicitly guaranteed data privacy in education through law. It also cited an analysis finding that 89 per cent of 163 education technology products could survey children.
These findings highlight the need for stronger safeguards when schools adopt digital services. Institutions should assess what information a platform collects, how it is stored, who can access it and whether it is shared with third parties.
Clear policies can help ensure that students’ personal information is not treated as an unlimited resource for commercial or other purposes. Parents and learners should also receive understandable explanations of the data practices associated with educational applications.
UNESCO has further argued that sustainability requires education systems to consider the environmental consequences of technology. Frequent replacement of devices can increase electronic waste and demand additional resources. Extending the useful life of equipment, where practical and safe, can help reduce these impacts.
Education systems urged to put learners first
UNESCO’s recommendations provide a framework for countries reviewing their digital education strategies. The central message is that technology should be selected according to educational need, not simply because a product is new or widely promoted.
Governments need to address connectivity gaps, assess the effectiveness of digital tools and prepare teachers to use them responsibly. Institutions must also protect student information and account for the long-term financial and environmental costs of their decisions.
For schools and universities, the challenge is to combine the advantages of digital resources with the human interaction that remains fundamental to learning.
As artificial intelligence and online platforms continue to evolve, the quality of education will depend on whether institutions can use these technologies thoughtfully and inclusively. UNESCO’s approach calls for innovation that serves students, supports teachers and ensures that the pursuit of digital progress does not undermine access to quality education for all.