After South Korea's AI digital textbook lost its legal status within four months of launch, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science jointly launched an AI talent task force in April 2026. The strategy has shifted: from textbooks to infrastructure, from students to lifelong learners.
South Korea introduced AI digital textbooks while simultaneously banning smartphones in schools. This paradox of teaching through digital tools while restricting digital devices is playing out across the world β what is really happening in global education policy?
After analyzing 230 policies across 35 education systems, the OECD's Education Policy Outlook 2025 reaches an uncomfortable conclusion: adult learning participation has barely moved in decades, while literacy and numeracy skills are actually declining.