IA à l'école dès la rentrée: 105 000 enseignants formés, alerte sur triche et fracture numérique

AI at School: What MEN's Rollout Means for Your Classroom

The Ministry of National Education (MEN) will integrate artificial intelligence into teaching content this fall. The plan includes a national training program for 105,000 teachers and 5,000 laptops for students in the first and final years of secondary school. For educators, this is a chance to modernize practice-if it's paired with clear guardrails and support.

Where unions agree-and what they caution

Ndongo Sarr, from the United Trade Union Framework for Middle and Secondary Education, supports the direction and reminds us that learning and using AI well will take time. In his words, "AI is an extraordinary tool whose ethical and responsible use will allow our young people to reach the same level as their Western counterparts."

He and others also flag real risks: student complacency, cheating, and a drift toward "robotization" that could threaten certain jobs without reskilling pathways.

Elhadi Malick Youm of the Autonomous Union of Secondary School Teachers adds: "AI is now essential in all educational systems around the world. Any system that wants to evolve without AI will irreversibly expose itself to difficulties." He calls for wider access to connectivity and more ambitious device programs.

Immediate actions for school leaders and faculty

• Set policy now: Define acceptable AI use by grade and subject. Clarify what's allowed for research, writing support, coding, and feedback. Require disclosure of AI assistance.
• Protect academic integrity: Redesign assessments to include oral defenses, process logs, and in-class checkpoints. Teach citation of AI outputs and model limits.
• Teach with AI, not through it: Use AI for lesson outlines, differentiation ideas, and formative feedback. Keep core thinking tasks with students.
• Data and ethics: Prioritize student privacy. Prohibit uploading identifiable data to public tools. Use age-appropriate, vetted platforms.
• Professional learning: Create short, ongoing workshops by subject area. Pair early adopters with peers for classroom coaching.
• Infrastructure and access: Map connectivity gaps. Plan device sharing, offline options, and content caching where bandwidth is limited.
• Family and community: Communicate the why, the how, and the limits. Share examples of acceptable use and your school's safeguards.

Equity must lead

Union members stress that equipment and training should reach all streams-not just scientific series. To make that real, schools will need coordinated support for connectivity in remote areas, with partnerships that include telecom operators and local organizations.

A practical 90-day rollout

• Weeks 1-2: Audit policies, devices, bandwidth, and teacher needs. Identify pilot classes.
• Weeks 3-4: Publish your AI use policy and academic honesty addendum. Hold staff and parent briefings.
• Weeks 5-8: Run PD cycles by subject. Pilot lesson plans that use AI for planning and student feedback.
• Weeks 9-12: Expand pilots. Collect samples of student work, note integrity incidents, and survey teachers and students.
• Metrics: Track teacher time saved, student engagement, assessment quality, and access gaps closed.

Recommended guidance and training

• OECD: AI in Education for policy and classroom considerations.
• Curated AI courses by job role to upskill teachers efficiently.

Bottom line

The MEN initiative sets a clear direction: AI will be part of daily teaching and learning. With thoughtful policy, targeted training, and a firm commitment to equity, schools can improve learning while limiting shortcuts and misuse.

The message from union leaders is consistent: move forward, invest in people, keep ethics at the center, and make access fair for every student.