A quiet revolution is underway in Singapore’s classrooms. According to the OECD’s latest Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), three out of four Singaporean teachers now use artificial intelligence (AI) to teach or support student learning — more than double the global average.

This statistic places Singapore at the forefront of educational innovation, ahead of many advanced economies. But the deeper story isn’t just about tools; it’s about transformation — in how teachers teach, how students learn, and how parents engage with the schooling experience.

Teachers as Early AI Adopters

Singapore’s educators have long been praised for their adaptability and professionalism, but this new data confirms something more profound — they are among the world’s most active and confident users of educational technology.

AI is being used in a range of teaching tasks:

• Lesson planning and idea generation (used by over 60% of teachers)

• Student feedback and communication with parents (nearly 70%)

• Adaptive learning and practice tools that tailor difficulty based on student performance

• Assessment and grading assistance, reducing administrative load

These applications are not replacing teachers; they are augmenting them. By automating repetitive work, AI gives educators back their most precious resource — time. Time to mentor, to innovate, and to connect.

What This Means for Students

For students, the change is seismic. AI allows learning to become deeply personalized, where lessons adapt to individual pace, ability, and interests. A student struggling with math can receive additional, targeted exercises, while one excelling in science can be challenged with more complex problem-solving tasks.

Beyond personalization, AI tools enable teachers to spot learning gaps early, even before they show up in grades. This early intervention model — already common in some pilot schools — can drastically reduce academic stress and create a healthier, more confidence-driven learning culture.

At the same time, Singapore’s education system is moving towards emphasizing “inventive and adaptive thinking, critical thinking, empathy, and resilience.” As Education Minister Chan Chun Sing noted, AI may handle information, but human intelligence must handle imagination and values. The next generation of Singaporeans will need to blend both — the precision of machines with the judgment of humans.

The New Role of Parents

For parents, this AI adoption offers both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, communication with teachers will become more data-rich and transparent. AI-driven dashboards can show student progress, attendance, and emotional well-being trends in near real-time.

On the other hand, it also requires a shift in parental mindset. Traditional expectations of rote achievement may no longer apply when learning becomes more fluid and customized. Parents will need to learn to interpret analytics, understand AI-generated reports, and support their children in developing the soft skills that algorithms cannot measure — curiosity, empathy, and creativity.

The Bigger Picture: Singapore’s Educational Edge

Globally, the OECD data shows that only about one-third of teachers use AI in their classrooms. Singapore’s 75% adoption rate is not accidental — it reflects years of systematic investment in digital literacy, teacher professional development, and a national ethos that prizes agility in learning.

This also reinforces Singapore’s position as a living laboratory for education innovation. Just as the nation became a hub for fintech and sustainability, it may soon be recognized as a hub for EduTech and AI-integrated pedagogy.

The Road Ahead

The next challenge lies not in access but in balance. As AI becomes ubiquitous in schools, Singapore must continue to safeguard the human core of education — compassion, ethics, and purpose. Students who grow up learning with AI must also learn to question it, to understand its biases, and to lead it, not follow it.

If done right, Singapore’s AI-empowered classrooms could produce a new kind of graduate: tech-literate yet human-centric, analytical yet empathetic, efficient yet imaginative.

That, ultimately, may be the greatest lesson AI will teach us.