Are Bangladesh's teachers ready for AI?

Gone are the days when the traditional chalkboard was the prime focus of classrooms in Bangladesh. In its place, a new and increasingly influential presence has begun to emerge: artificial intelligence (AI). Globally as well as in Bangladesh's schools, AI use has rapidly gained speed over the past year. It did not happen all of a sudden through revolution; instead, AI started to make its way into classrooms, at first acting as late-night study companions, problem-solving apps, and rewriting tools. What began with minor conveniences soon turned out to be routine features in student learning. For many students today, AI is embedded in how they think, write, study, and solve problems.
But whilst AI has quickly become integral to student habits, the country's teachers have not been equally prepared for this shift. AI-based platforms for generating worksheets, crafting lesson plans, assessing student work, or identifying learning gaps have become common in many urban schools. However, the number of teachers who have received formal, structured AI training remains strikingly small. Current adoption is largely driven by individual initiative-teachers experimenting with tools such as ChatGPT without institutional guidance or pedagogical frameworks. Current estimates from early adoption through the government's a2i programme suggest that the demand for AI-enabled classroom assistance has increased by almost 40 per cent. This surge has put immense pressure on teacher-training systems that are already stretched thin.
With its potential to serve as an instructional partner, AI offers enormous promise, but without interpretation, evaluation, and supervision of AI-generated material, teachers risk losing control over the very tools designed to support them. A recent survey makes this fear quite clear: six out of ten teachers fear students have begun relying on AI as a crutch to shortcut underlying competencies. Lacking formal training themselves, teachers are poorly positioned to monitor student use of AI or to mentor them in how to use it responsibly and critically.
These concerns are exacerbated by long-standing structural pressures in the education system. Considering that the average student-teacher ratio, already at 31:1, is often significantly higher in so many government schools, the attractiveness of AI-assisted learning is self-evident. Adaptive platforms can personalise content on a scale that no one teacher could match. Automated grading saves hours of manual correction, freeing educators to invest energy in interactive teaching, thoughtful guidance, and developing critical thinking.
However, this promise will remain uneven without institutional support. Though teacher-training colleges have begun introducing AI-literacy modules, their capacity is limited. For example, one technical training centre reported that monthly enquiries rose from 10 to 50—an indication of demand far beyond what current infrastructure can serve. This reflects a broader national pattern: enthusiasm rises, but structured policy, institutional coordination, and resource allocation are lagging behind. Experts remarked that Bangladesh needs to go beyond mere basic ICT instruction and build training programmes for teachers on how to validate AI-generated outputs, create assignments that discourage misuse, and train students to assess automated results with care.
Thus, alignment of policy has become an urgent necessity. Unless nationally standardised, well-resourced schools will move ahead and under-resourced institutions will fall further behind. Already, some policymakers have called for clear guidelines on data privacy, ethical use, and the vetting of AI tools before they reach classrooms. Bangladesh has managed earlier transitions in technology, from multimedia classrooms to digital teacher training, but AI represents a deeper pedagogical shift. It not only alters the tools and formats of instruction but the very nature of teaching and learning.
The country's education system already bears an inordinately heavy load. Classrooms are overcrowded, infrastructure remains inconsistent, subject-specialist teachers are limited, and the curriculum often exceeds what schools can realistically deliver. AI now adds another layer of complexity. Teachers are no longer responsible for merely finishing the syllabus but also for mentoring students in reasoning, judgement, and intellectual resilience. Yet, many students arrive with AI-generated essays, perfect solutions, and polished summaries which may not reflect their true level of understanding. This complicates the assessment of genuine learning. The challenge is, therefore, as much educational as technological. Ensuring deep comprehension has become more exacting than ever before, and national-level, structured teacher training has become imperative.
Bangladesh is at an important juncture. If the country is earnest in developing a quality workforce, then teachers need to be at the heart of this technological revolution. Large-scale, evidence-based AI training will not be optional but rather foundational to responsible, effective, and equitable innovation in education. This is not to make every teacher a technologist but to arm educators with the intellectual wherewithal to show their students the way in a world where answers could be instantaneous but comprehension is not.
Three immediate gaps require attention. First, Bangladesh needs dedicated AI-training programmes integrated into both pre-service and in-service teacher development. These programmes need to be practical, hands-on, and relevant to the realities of the classroom. Second, teachers need new assessment strategies suited to an AI-rich environment. If students can instantaneously generate essays, then assignments need to emphasise reasoning: oral explanations, step-by-step solution logs, or multi-stage tasks which make the thought process of a student manifestly clear. Third, teachers require clear national guidance on responsible AI use. Many are already using it informally to translate text or prepare worksheets, but without standards, they risk depending on tools that may generate errors, bias, or misleading information.
Other countries are taking action. Greece, for example, has begun formal training of secondary school teachers through a national partnership with leading AI companies. It realised early that educators cannot manage AI-saturated classrooms without systematic preparation. Bangladesh faces a similar landscape: students across the country, even in rural areas, are already making heavy use of AI through smartphones. The question is no longer whether students should make use of AI but whether teachers are prepared to teach in a world where students already do. This is a pivot point. When well-prepared, AI can be a true collaborator, easing workloads, enhancing learning, and opening up new opportunities inside and outside classrooms. Otherwise, without support, teachers will be unable to keep up in classrooms where technology evolves faster than pedagogies. Technology companies will continue to release new tools, and students will continue to use them. The only variable still within national control is teacher preparedness.
Bangladesh has talked for a long time about empowering its educators. The coming of AI makes that commitment urgent and measurable. The country is at a fork in the road. AI will enter classrooms irrespective of readiness. The central question is whether teachers will be given the knowledge, tools, and institutional support to guide students through this new era or whether they will be left to navigate it alone.

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