Zhejiang to make AI courses compulsory in primary, secondary schools

Students watch intelligent robots developed by a Beijing company for use in education, elderly care, household chores and security purposes. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhejiang province in East China will make artificial intelligence courses foundational and compulsory in primary and secondary schools, to further promote the deep integration of AI in compulsory education, news portal cztv.com reported on Thursday.

According to an announcement at a digital education conference held by the province, AI teaching content will be integrated into subjects such as science and mathematics in the schools.

Currently, information technology is already a subject tested in the national college entrance exam, or gaokao, in Zhejiang, and the introduction of AI courses in primary and secondary schools will help lay a solid foundation for students.

Last year, Zhejiang proposed to promote the deep integration of AI in compulsory education and build a Zhejiang-style AI education system for primary and secondary schools. The province has also set up two batches of "AI Plus Education" pilot areas and schools.

Wenzhou city in the province has started to promote the full popularization of AI courses in all primary and secondary schools. According to a plan issued by the city last March, by 2023, Wenzhou will cultivate 700 AI education experimental schools and 60 AI education demonstration schools, build a three-level course system for campus AI education with distinct regional characteristics, and have a complete AI education teacher team. By 2025, there will be 1,000 experimental schools and 100 demonstration schools for AI education. AI courses will be popularized in all primary and middle schools in the city, and AI labs will be fully covered.