Summary
- A multi-stakeholder effort for educational transformation
- Human-centered and ethical AI for education
- Toward a responsible and inclusive AI future in Egypt
UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education of Egypt officially launched the national "Artificial intelligence competency framework for teachers" on 3 June 2026. This marks a major milestone for the country’s digital transformation agenda and its commitment to preparing teachers for the age of artificial intelligence.
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The launch positions Egypt among the first countries worldwide to develop and adopt a nationally contextualized AI competency framework for teachers, based on
The launch positions Egypt among the first countries worldwide to develop and adopt a nationally contextualized AI competency framework for teachers, based on UNESCO’s global framework and tailored to Egypt’s educational priorities, needs and aspirations.
Building on the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to integrate technology, coding and digital learning into education, the framework aims to equip teachers with the knowledge, skills and ethical understanding necessary to use AI responsibly and effectively in teaching and learning. The initiative reflects Egypt’s continued progress in digital education and teacher professional development.
Through strong collaboration between the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and UNESCO, significant advances have been made in strengthening digital infrastructure, connectivity, policy framework and ethics in AI that support technology-enabled learning.
A multi-stakeholder effort for educational transformation
Within the framework of the UNESCO-Huawei Technology-Enabled Open Schools for All project, the launch follows the National Consultation and Validation Workshop held in Cairo in October 2025. The event was a collaboration between the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and UNESCO which brought together more than 120 representatives from government institutions, universities, teacher training bodies, civil society organizations, development partners and the private sector to adapt UNESCO’s global framework to the Egyptian context.
The framework was developed through a highly participatory process involving national and international experts, surveys, focus groups, interviews and consultations with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that it reflects local realities and responds to the needs of Egypt’s education system aligned with SDG4 and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
At the heart of Egypt’s digital transformation, the teacher remains the cornerstone of every reform and the backbone of every achievement. This framework reflects Egypt’s reality and provides teachers with the digital capabilities and ethical awareness necessary to employ AI purposefully and responsibly in classrooms.
H.E. Dr Mohamed Abdel LatifMinister of Education and Technical Education in EgyptAimed at empowering teachers with the core competencies required to engage in teaching confidently and responsibly with emerging technology tools in the classrooms, the partnership between the Ministry of Education and Technical Education in Egypt and UNESCO represents “a national model of constructive international cooperation”, according to the Minister.
In this context, UNESCO also commended the significant progress achieved by the Ministry in the past two years, particularly in addressing the education reform agenda focused on classroom overcrowding, improving student attendance rates, professional development of teachers and addressing teachers’ shortage. These achievements provide a strong foundation for the successful implementation of the AI competency framework and broader digital transformation agenda that will contribute to enhancing access, inclusion and quality basic education.
Human-centered and ethical AI for education
The AI competency framework for teachers developed by UNESCO provides countries with a flexible structure and framework to support teachers in learning and understanding, evaluating and using AI technologies responsibly. The framework emphasizes ethics, inclusion, human agency and critical thinking, while helping teachers leverage AI to enhance teaching and learning experiences, improve efficiency, foster creativity and support personalized learning.
From UNESCO’s perspective, artificial intelligence should serve as a tool to support and empower teachers rather than replace them. Technology should never replace teachers; it should empower them.
This principle underpins UNESCO’s global approach to AI in education, guided by the Beijing Consensus on Artificial Intelligence and Education (2019), the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (2021), and the Santiago Consensus on Teachers (2025), which collectively promote human-centered, ethical and inclusive approaches to educational innovation.
Toward a responsible and inclusive AI future in Egypt
In Egypt, the contextualized framework will serve both as a capacity-building tool for teachers and as a policy reference for integrating AI into teacher training, professional development programmes, educational planning and curriculum reform.
As a next step, UNESCO and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education in Egypt will implement the action plan and collaborate on a series of capacity-building initiatives, including online and face-to-face training programmes, the preparation of AI master trainers, the development of Arabic learning resources and the establishment of innovative teacher training hubs to support interactive and technology-enabled professional development.
The launch of the "AI competency framework for teachers in egypt" represents another important milestone in the country’s efforts to build a future-ready education system that empowers teachers, embraces innovation and ensures that technology serves learning in an ethical, equitable and human-centered manner.