Artificial intelligence (AI) has continued to revolutionise several industries recently, and the education sector is no different. In 2025, AI’s role is only likely to become more important for educational institutions, empowering them with new ways to deliver personalised learning, streamline and automate administrative tasks and improve overall student learning experiences. AI-driven systems are now capable of providing real-time progress monitoring, empowering educators to address a wide range of learning needs more effectively.
According to Statista, over 86% of students reported that they were using AI tools in their schoolwork and almost a fourth of them reported using it daily. This reflects students’ willingness to adopt innovative technologies like AI for their learning and development. Meanwhile, data from a UK government survey conducted back in 2023, revealed that over 47% of educators had already incorporated AI practices into their classrooms and teaching.
With the AI revolution in full swing and the UK’s Department for Education’s ambitious plans to harness AI for improving educational standards, the need for robust data privacy frameworks is now more important than ever. In fact, as AI becomes integral to education strategies, organisations must strike the right balance between harnessing the technology and safeguarding sensitive information. Without robust privacy measures in place, educational institutions risk exposing student data to breaches resulting in identity theft and misuse.
The key benefits of AI in education
From learning experience to operational efficiency, AI has been transforming a number of areas within the education sector. Today, educational institutions are using the tech to automate administrative tasks, personalise learning experiences, and improve curriculum planning.
Automated administrative tasks
AI-powered solutions can automate administrative tasks, streamlining operations and reducing workload for educators and institutions. From automating attendance tracking and grading to managing enrolment processes and scheduling, AI can deliver both efficiency and accuracy. By seamlessly managing repetitive and time-consuming tasks, AI helps educators focus on providing personalised learning to students. Meanwhile, agentic AI provides virtual assistants to answer student queries and improve communication for educators. This can significantly free up time for teachers to be focused on personalising and enhancing the student learning experience.
Customised learning
With AI-powered solutions, educators can tailor their strategies and student learning experiences to individual student needs. AI algorithms can also help educators analyse student performance, adapt content swiftly and provide targeted feedback to ensure more effective learning outcomes. Teachers can leverage AI tech to identify gaps and enhance student engagement. Meanwhile, decision-makers can use AI tools to optimise resource allocation and improve overall institutional performance to ensure they are able to deliver personalised learning experiences.
Advanced curriculum planning
With advanced lesson and curriculum planning, educators and decision-makers can create structured and outcome-driven learning experiences. Educators can use real-time analytics to generate curricula designed to meet diverse knowledge gaps and learning needs while suggesting activities to maximise engagement. Recent data indicates that among educators experimenting with advanced technologies, curriculum planning and lesson content creation are among the top activities being progressively streamlined by AI in educational settings.
Key considerations
The scope of AI’s potential in education is vast and will likely have an even deeper disruptive effect in future years. However, with the projected growth of AI adoption in education comes an increased need to address potential risks. AI malpractice and security risks could do more harm than good when such innovative technologies are used in the classroom. In fact, cyberattacks worldwide are on the rise.
In the Global Cybersecurity Outlook for 2025, the World Economic Forum highlights that cyberattacks are among the top ten global risks of greatest concern for the next decade. With only 37% of businesses adopting AI reporting that they have tested the security of AI tools before deployment, it highlights a critical gap between cybersecurity measures and the implementation of AI without first establishing the necessary cyber resilience.
As AI becomes an integral part of education strategies, institutions must find the right balance between harnessing the technology and protecting sensitive information.
Data governance and zero trust
By embracing robust data governance and implementing Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA), educational organisations can prevent unauthorised access and ensure that internal systems remain resilient and compliant with evolving data safety guidelines. Developing robust data governance requires careful consideration. Educational institutions must align data privacy practices with evolving government guidelines like the Data Protection Act (DPA) to mitigate data breaches and ensure regulatory compliance.
Additionally, educators must embrace a holistic approach by combining advanced ZTA-based security solutions with appropriate security measures and awareness to address threats before they develop. ZTA is based on the principle that no entity, whether internal or external to a network, should be trusted by default. Instead, every request is uniquely verified before access is granted, enabling control at a granular level.
Users are only granted access to data and applications that are strictly necessary for them to perform their jobs. This can significantly reduce the threat surface for educational institutions, allowing them to minimise the spreading of cyberattacks. Given the growing prevalence of remote working, institutions must account for the increased attack surface associated with data access across multiple devices, particularly those outside the institution’s secure network.
How to implement zero trust architecture in the education sector?
Implementing a full-scale ZTA can take time. Educational institutions can begin their journey to achieving a comprehensive and advanced ZTA deployment by assessing their current security posture. This involves conducting a full-scale evaluation of users, services, data locations, and user identities within the educational network. Monitoring user behaviour among students and educators ensures that systems are only accessible on devices with up-to-date systems and security.
The next step is implementing strong policies around data privacy applicable to all identities within the education network. This works especially well when devising authorisation mechanisms, as each request for data or services should be authorised against a policy. Strong data-sharing protocols are essential, especially when handling sensitive information. Educational institutions can then escalate ZTA by deploying phishing-resistant multifactor authentication, session-based access and encrypted network traffic to ensure granular control over data access.
While implementing ZTA can be a complex process, partnering with experienced IT providers who follow strict ZTA guidelines can make the transition smoother. They help integrate security measures with educational systems effectively, ensuring strong data protection without compromising functionality or user accessibility.
Looking ahead
AI presents incredible opportunities to take student learning to the next level and provides educators with the right tools to streamline educational practices. The potential is far-reaching. However, as the role of AI continues to expand in the education sector, institutions need to adopt measures that balance innovation and security. The need for robust cybersecurity measures has never been more critical. Those leveraging ethical and AI practices securely will be better positioned to thrive with confidence while safeguarding themselves from cybersecurity risks and privacy concerns.
