A May 2026 commentary published on Hypertext argues that South Africa’s Department of Basic Education (DBE) has yet to issue any AI-specific guidance for schools, leaving teachers to experiment individually with AI tools while learners are already using them at home. Without a shared framework, outcomes are uneven — some learners receive structured exposure and others receive none — with no curriculum designed to build AI skills progressively from one grade to the next.
The article highlights three priorities for the country: improving digital infrastructure and affordability, establishing clear ethical guidelines specifically for administrators and teachers, and providing continuous teacher training. It notes that the DBE’s historical pattern of announcing curriculum reforms — such as the Fourth Industrial Revolution coding and robotics pilots — and then failing to implement them systemically is a risk that could repeat with AI literacy.
The commentary also cites the OECD’s Digital Education Outlook 2026, noting that the most common immediate policy response globally has been national guidance covering ethical use, academic integrity, data protection, and the roles of teachers and students. South Africa’s absence of equivalent guidance is presented as a structural gap that undermines its stated AI ambitions, particularly in light of the April 2026 withdrawal of the Draft National AI Policy due to AI-generated citations in its supporting documentation.