Teaching the future: Why Punjab is putting AI into every classroom

Last week, Punjab did something no other state in India has done before. We made Artificial Intelligence a core subject for every child from Class 1 to Class 12 in every government school affiliated with the Punjab School Education Board. Not as an optional add-on. Not as a vocational elective for a select few. But as a mainstream subject, taught alongside Mathematics and Science to every child in every village and every city.This was not an easy decision. But it was the right one, and it was long overdue. I remember visiting schools across Punjab and seeing children being taught “computer education” that meant little more than Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Paint, virtually the same syllabus we had a decade ago. Meanwhile, the world had already moved ahead. The International Monetary Fund