EAC ministers approve AI module for university students

What the report says

East African Community education and technology ministers have approved a foundational artificial intelligence module for university students across the region, according to The Observer. The proposal is intended to give undergraduates core digital and AI skills regardless of their academic discipline, and partner states were asked to consider adding it to degree programmes.

The ministers also directed the Inter-University Council for East Africa to develop a regional framework for implementing the module. The approval was one part of a wider package of resolutions adopted at the 21st Sectoral Council on Education, Science and Technology, Culture and Sports, which was held from October 27 to 31, 2026, at the new IUCEA headquarters in Kampala.

The Observer reported that the council additionally backed AI certification benchmarks for Kiswahili and adopted regional strategies on artificial intelligence, digital transformation and biotechnology. Those strategies are meant to support the use of emerging technologies in sectors such as education, agriculture, health, industry and public administration. EAC deputy secretary general Andrea Ariik Malueth urged education systems to better prepare young people for changing labour markets.

The ministers also approved a regional AI network of universities, teacher-education instruments on curriculum, policy and conduct, and a TVET qualifications framework. They reviewed tuition rules for students studying in partner states, and called for faster alignment of mutual recognition agreements for several professions. The decisions reflect a broader EAC effort to improve cross-border education, skills recognition and professional mobility.