Artificial intelligence is now part of our daily lives. It is transforming the way we learn, work and create. Faced with these rapid changes, our responsibility is to prepare schools not to resist the world to come, but to take their full place within it.
It is in this spirit that the Wallonia-Brussels Federation has launched a pilot project in twenty primary schools, to explore concretely how AI can support basic learning (arithmetic, reading and writing) and help pupils where they need it most.
Since 2023, we have launched an ambitious reflection on artificial intelligence. This process led to the first ethical charter on AI in schools, co-developed with school networks, governing bodies and stakeholders on the ground. Transparency, data protection, equal access in the face of the digital divide: these are all principles that affirm AI can only enter schools if it respects their values.
The aim is to provide points of reference and to develop our pupils' critical thinking in the face of technological developments. This is, moreover, the whole point of the reform of the lower secondary level (1st, 2nd and 3rd years of secondary school), which gives more room to digital technology in manual, technical and technological training courses. The goal is to give pupils all the keys to distinguish fact from opinion, truth from plausibility, and so on. We certainly do not demonise the tool: on the contrary, we teach how to use it wisely.
The twenty schools selected for this pilot project will have the opportunity to test artificial intelligence tools that enable remediation, consolidation or advancement in basic learning. Not to replace teachers, not to delegate teaching, but to give them additional tools, particularly to support the pupils who need it most.
In 2026, the results of this experiment will inform future policy choices. A way of doing what we have called for from the start: moving forward within a framework, but above all not standing still.
This pilot is part of a coherent whole: integrating AI into ongoing teacher training, rolling out Pix modules (a training tool) related to digital technology and AI, and providing a wide range of teaching resources on e-classe (an online platform for education teams).
As Education Minister Valérie Glatigny points out:
"Artificial intelligence is here, and we cannot afford to miss this turning point. With this pilot project, we are giving schools a framework to master these tools and turn them into genuine learning levers, for the benefit of pupils and teachers. The aim is not to replace people, but to prepare our education system for a world where AI is already part of daily life."