In Kenya, we like to think of ourselves as the Silicon Savannah. We embrace the pivot. We integrated M-PESA into our veins before the West figured out digital wallets. But a new dataset released today suggests that when it comes to the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and education, the national mood isn’t just excitement—it’s anxiety.
According to a new report from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a staggering 70% of Kenyan adults believe AI and automation constitute the single biggest challenge that the education system must prepare the next generation for.
The report, titled ‘Humans at the heart of education’, pulls data from a YouGov survey of over 1,000 adults in Kenya (conducted between August and September 2025). It paints a picture of a populace that is hyper-aware of the technological disruption looming over the workforce.
To put that 70% figure into perspective, Kenyans are significantly more worried about algorithms than they are about viruses or hackers:
- 70% cited AI/Automation as a top challenge.
- 49% cited public health issues (like mental health and pandemics).
- 38% cited cyber security.
- 32% cited climate change.
The Obsolescence Trap
The knee-jerk reaction to an AI-dominant future is usually to double down on technical skills. If the robots are coming, we should speak their language, right?
The survey reflects this impulse: 58% of respondents stated that digital skills—specifically AI and data literacy—are critical for students.
However, the Cambridge report highlights a paradox often ignored in EdTech policy circles: digital skills have a terrible shelf life. The report argues that if education focuses solely on “how to use Tool X,” the curriculum becomes obsolete the moment “Tool Y” is released.
This is the “coding trap.” By the time a syllabus on a specific programming language is approved, the AI might already be writing that code better than a human junior developer.
As a result, the report suggests the greatest possibilities don’t lie in technology alone, but in the “Human Stack”—skills that Large Language Models (LLMs) struggle to replicate.
“If AI can replace us, then we are not teaching the right things.”
This sentiment is the backbone of the findings. While Kenyans prize digital literacy, they are simultaneously demanding a curriculum that fosters “whole person” development to counter automation:
- 51% prioritized creativity and innovation.
- 28% flagged self-management (goal setting, discipline, metacognition).
- 27% chose social skills (empathy, teamwork).
- 25% selected critical thinking.
The data implies that the ideal Kenyan graduate of 2030 isn’t just a coder; they are a creative, empathetic critical thinker who knows how to wield code as a tool, rather than be replaced by it.
The “Two-Tier” Risk
Perhaps the most critical—and dystopian—warning in the report concerns the role of teachers.
In an era of personalized AI tutors and automated grading, it is tempting for cash-strapped education systems to view technology as a cost-cutting replacement for human educators. The report warns that nations using tech as a substitute for teachers risk creating a two-tier system:
- The Privileged Tier: Children learn from skilled teachers who use technology to enhance the experience.
- The Automated Tier: Children rely on digital platforms with little to no human guidance.
Cambridge argues that technology should be used to “empower, not replace.” The vision is for AI to handle the “drudgery”—automating marking, analyzing feedback data, and planning lessons—freeing up the teacher to focus on those hard-to-teach human skills like empathy and collaboration.
A Call for “Open Source” Policy
If there is one thing Kenyans agree on, it’s that they want a seat at the table. The survey found that 93% of people believe teachers should have a significant role in deciding education policy. The same number (93%) said parents should be involved, followed by students (82%) and the wider community (81%).
This is a clear rejection of top-down technocratic mandates. The report concludes that feedback mechanisms need to be introduced before changes are implemented, not after the servers have gone live.
Kagendo Salisbury, Director of the Partnership for Education at Cambridge, noted that Kenya is already uniquely positioned for this shift because of our history of adaptation.
“Kenya is leading the way in integrating technology into everyday life – from business and banking to helping communities connect and thrive,” Salisbury said. “Competency-Based Education (CBE) is laying the foundation to embed and deepen these strengths alongside digital skills and critical thinking.”
The Takeaway
The report is part of Cambridge’s wider work on national education systems, drawing on data from 1,084 adults weighted to be representative of the online Kenyan population.
It serves as a reality check for the EdTech sector. We often get lost in the specs of the hardware or the sophistication of the software. But if the end user—the student—isn’t learning how to out-think the machine, we’re just training them to be obsolete users of better tools.
