Cliff Notes
- A dispute has arisen between teaching unions and the UK government regarding the potential job losses due to AI in education, particularly affecting lower-paid teaching assistants.
- The National Education Union (NEU) has expressed concern over the government’s AI initiatives, asserting that proper consultation with educators has not occurred, and warns against the risks of de-skilling the profession.
- The Department for Education has countered the NEU’s claims, stating they have engaged meaningfully with the sector and emphasising that AI can enhance efficiency and educational standards.
Teaching unions gear up for fight with Number 10 over AI job-loss fears
A row is brewing between teaching unions and Number 10 over the impact AI could have on jobs, Sky News has learnt.
The National Education Union (NEU), the largest teaching union in the UK, is concerned AI teaching tools could lead to some in the profession losing work, particularly lower-paid teaching assistants whose tasks could become automated.
Alarm bells were set off in January when the government announced it was giving £1m in funding to 16 tech companies to build teacher AI tools “for feedback and marking, driving high and rising education standards”.
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede told UK News that while there were positive aspects to the rollout of AI, he felt there had “not been any meaningful discussion with the sector yet” and the Department for Education (DfE) was “running away with itself”.
“AI can reduce workload, slash bureaucracy and there is a role to reduce admin and workload for teachers – but education and learning is ultimately a relational and social experience,” he said.
“AI can be used in a progressive way or it can be used in the way of Elon Musk,” he added, referring to the tech billionaire who is spearheading Donald Trump‘s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) to cut federal waste.
“Elon Musk says we need to gamify education – his direction of travel is no teachers, no teaching assistants.
“The profession is sick of having things done to it from the top down, without consideration of how it affects us.
“If it is used to free up educators’ time so they can focus their time more effectively, then fair enough – but we will resist a direction of travel that seeks to de-professionalise, deskill or replace teaching assistants.”
A DfE spokesperson rejected the NEU’s accusations, telling Sky News: “It is flat out wrong to suggest that we have not meaningfully engaged with the sector on the use of AI.
“From the initial call for evidence, through to our published policy on AI, we have communicated and engaged with the sector, and we will continue to do so as we use this great new technological era to modernise our education system, back our teachers and deliver for our children.”
The issue of AI nevertheless could pose a challenge for Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson who will have to balance the concerns of the unions alongside the government’s drive to use AI to maximise efficiency and make savings in its bid to stimulate a subdued Economy.
