Digital Education
and AI Strategy
BEYOND DIGITAL AS USUAL
DIGITAL EDUCATION AND AI STRATEGY: BEYOND DIGITAL AS USUAL
The urgency and promise of digital transformation
in education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
UNICEF’s vision for digital education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A model for sustainable and accelerated impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Five focus areas addressing critical education challenges and bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Strategic approaches to address the bottlenecks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Core drivers of the Strategy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Outcomes and evidence-based approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Standards, monitoring and KPIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Teachers as a systemic entry point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Strategic partnerships for implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Innovation and leading technical expertise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Sustainable financing and scalable business models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Enhanced internal capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Priority countries for implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Eight strategic shifts to operationalize the Strategy . . . . 26
COVER PHOTOGRAPH: © UNICEF/UN0551729/FRANK DE JONGH. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Contents
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DIGITAL EDUCATION AND AI STRATEGY: BEYOND DIGITAL AS USUAL
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Learning and skills are acquired across the life course, starting in early childhood
and through adolescence, with three key transitions identified: early learning (age
5); learning the basics/foundational learning (age 10); and learning for life and
work (age 18). An estimated two-thirds of 10-year-olds globally are unable to read
with comprehension. Some 272 million children are out-of-school, with progress
stagnating over the past decade, and at least 234 million children in emergencies
need urgent education support.
A huge challenge within the education sector is the shortage of teachers: an estimated
44 million additional teachers will be needed for primary and secondary education to
achieve SDG4, and an additional 6 million when including early childhood educators.
The urgency and promise of
digital transformation in education
SECTION 1
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DIGITAL EDUCATION AND AI STRATEGY: BEYOND DIGITAL AS USUAL
Alongside this, education is severely underfunded in many countries. Some factors
leading to crises are internal to the education sector, such as lack of access to quality,
inclusive schools. Other factors are external to the sector, but weigh upon it, such as
poverty, climate change, conflict, social norms and others. Not only are these crises
interlinked but they also present a significant challenge that, without urgent action, has
the potential to become a generational catastrophe. Solutions are required that can be
implemented rapidly and at scale to address the derailment of learning.
We are living in an era of cutting-edge digital technologies with immense potential
to accelerate progress in addressing the multiple educational crises. These
technologies offer much needed solutions in reshaping the future of learning.
The world is experiencing a seismic shift, with disruptive innovations like artificial
intelligence, automation, and increased access to smartphones opening up new
possibilities but also placing new demands for employability skills. There is a strategic
need to strengthen the government education system through the appropriate
use of technology. Embracing new approaches to improve teaching and learning is
also crucial for unlocking the full potential of education in today’s rapidly changing
digital world and to support the alignment between skills gained at school and those
needed in the 21st century workplace. Teachers and school leaders need to be central
to this process, supported in it, and part of the co-design and decision making
around products and their usage.
However, despite good intentions, education technology is too often misapplied –
converting traditional materials to digital formats without addressing the deeper
barriers to learning. There is also often an expectation that distribution of devices
in and of themselves will improve learning outcomes. This misalignment squanders
billions of dollars in education technology investments each year. To truly improve
learning outcomes, we must prioritise solutions and approaches backed by robust
evidence of impact and ensure holistic integration into teaching and learning practices.
The time is now for UNICEF to take a global leadership role within the education
community, acting as a positive disruptor and championing a holistic vision for
digital transformation in education. This vision unites UNICEF’s diverse expertise,
leverages its unique strengths, and capitalizes on its comparative advantages. By
aligning efforts across global, regional, and country levels, UNICEF can foster a more
coordinated, impactful, sustainable and scalable approach to unlocking the full
potential of digital technology in every facet of education.
This document outlines UNICEF’s vision for digital education – moving beyond
“digital as usual” to ensure approaches add real value by breaking down barriers
and accelerating learning, rather than replicating traditional pedagogy with a digital
layer. It begins with an overview of the Strategy’s purpose, followed by detailed
explanations of its five focus areas, each designed to address critical education
challenges and bottlenecks. It then presents the seven core drivers that will support
delivery and accelerate results, and concludes with an overview of the ten strategic
shifts required to operationalize the Strategy.
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The Urgency
272M
children are out
of school
Two-thirds
of 10-year-olds
cannot read with
comprehension
234M
children in
emergencies need
urgent education
support
44M
additional
teachers
are needed
worldwide
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The purpose of the new Digital Education Strategy (henceforth, the “Strategy”)
is to dramatically accelerate results for learning and the global impact of
UNICEF’s work on learning gains and skills acquisition. To achieve major global
progress, all the digital education work of UNICEF will move to a focus on improving
learning outcomes through evidence-based approaches, in alignment with
UNICEF’s education strategy – Every Child Learns. It will have a particular focus on
bridging digital divides, including gender, disability and linguistic digital divides, and
on children both in and out of school. Multiple transformative shifts are required
to address these challenges and close the learning and skills gap. It is imperative
to implement innovative and cost-effective approaches to expand access to quality
education and ensure equitable learning opportunities.
UNICEF’s vision for digital education
SECTION 2
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The Strategy is centred on the use of digital to promote learning and skills, building
on the latest science of teaching and learning, and facilitating effective learning from
anywhere and everywhere. There are five priority areas within the Strategy and these
will be the focus of UNICEF’s work in digital education: empowering teachers and
facilitators, foundational learning, competencies and skills development,
strengthening systems, and thought leadership.
UNICEF’s vision is to transform education by having scaled impact in these five
priority areas with a strong focus on measurable impact. Billions of dollars in annual
global investments in digital transformation are not yet having a meaningful impact
on learning outcomes at scale. The Strategy will address this, ensuring increased
investment in the soft components of evidence-informed digital strategies, national
digital platforms, monitoring, and support to schools and teachers.
The Strategy will be implemented in a manner that builds on UNICEF’s strengths,
the proven capacity for implementation and system strengthening. UNICEF will
shift from building and leveraging internally sourced and developed products to
identifying and leveraging the best products for learning outcomes with the greatest
potential for scale and impact and will work through strategic partnerships with
technology companies to have impact at scale. In addition, UNICEF will build alliances
with other donors to resource the Strategy initiatives as well as ensure sustainability.
UNICEF will also work in strategic partnership with other thought and practice
leaders, leveraging its global position and convening power to help shape a unified
agenda and bolster support for transformative shifts in the global learning outcomes
roadmap for all education stakeholders.
UNICEF, as a global leader in education, will champion this paradigm shift –
transitioning from predominantly project-based approaches to approaches that
prioritise implementation at scale, systems strengthening and thought
leadership. UNICEF’s focus will be on maximizing impact through our distinct
contribution within a crowded sector, leveraging our deep understanding of
local contexts. UNICEF will apply differentiated solutions that account for diverse
implementation contexts across the development-humanitarian nexus ensuring both
relevance and effectiveness at scale.
Multiple transformative shifts are required
to address these challenges and close the
learning and skills gap.
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To achieve impact at scale, we will focus on the five strategic focus areas, applying
a differentiated approach based on implementation context to address the critical
education challenges and bottlenecks.
Five focus areas addressing critical education
challenges and bottlenecks
1) UNICEF ’ S S TR ATEGIC FOCUS TO EMPOWER TE ACHER S
W ILL ADDRESS:
i. Teacher shortages and low teacher motivation and retention – Insufficient
numbers of qualified teachers, especially in rural and marginalized areas,
coupled with high turnover rates, challenges in recruitment and uneven teacher
deployment, disrupt the continuity and quality of education. In addition, teachers
have overly heavy workloads with too much time spent on administration and
management, significantly reducing teaching time.
A model for sustainable and
accelerated impact
SECTION 3
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ii. Low teacher capacity – Many teachers lack adequate training and professional
development opportunities (pre-service and in-service), leading to gaps in subject
knowledge and pedagogical skills and challenges in delivery of effective lessons.
2) UNICEF ’ S S TR ATEGIC FOCUS ON FOUNDAT IONAL
LE ARNING W ILL ADDRESS:
i. Instruction not at the right level or language for the child – Mismatches
between teaching instruction and content, and students’ learning levels or
language proficiencies, which impedes effective learning.
This is especially critical at early stages of literacy.
ii. Lack of effective learning approaches for children
outside the formal school system – Children who
are out of school, in non-formal education settings,
experiencing disrupted education, and more broadly
children who lack opportunities for appropriate and
effective learning.
3) UNICEF ’ S S TR ATEGIC FOCUS ON COMPETENC IES AND
SK ILLS DE VELOPMENT W ILL ADDRESS:
i. Disconnect between the skills acquired in schools and those required
in the job market – Many children leave school without the skills and
competencies, for example digital and AI skills, needed to thrive in an ever-
evolving and increasingly digitized future.
ii. Lack of accessible accreditation opportunities – Out-of-school children
lack options to acquire recognized competencies for employment and as a
complementary pathway to reintegration into formal schooling.
4) UNICEF ’ S S TR ATEGIC FOCUS ON S TRENGTHENING
S YS TEMS W ILL ADDRESS:
i. Inadequate government capacity and lack of robust ICT in education
master plans –Challenges include limited government capacity on ICT in
education, lack of long-term planning and financing, and infrastructure gaps.
ii. Weak monitoring systems and strategic planning – Ineffective data
collection and analysis hinders the ability to track out-of-school children, monitor
learning outcomes, and make evidence-based decisions. Additionally, a lack of
long-term, holistic and strategic planning by governments results in fragmented
efforts and inefficient use of resources.©
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The 5 Focus Areas
1. Empowering Teachers
2. Foundational Learning
3. Competencies & Skills Development
4. Strengthening Systems
5. Thought leadership
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iii. Barriers for children with disabilities and adolescent girls – Physical,
societal and cultural obstacles limit access to education for children with
disabilities and adolescent girls.
iv. Fragmented and ill-suited digital platforms – Multiple platforms and
solutions for monitoring, management, and learning often operate in isolation,
lacking interoperability and duplicating functions. At the same time, decision-
makers, including those at the school level, lack clear guidance to identify the
most appropriate, context-relevant, impactful (based on evidence), inclusive and
safe solutions. This leads to inefficiencies, siloed approaches and limited or even
negative impacts on learning outcomes.
5) UNICEF ’ S S TR ATEGIC FOCUS ON THOUGHT
LE ADER SHIP W ILL ADDRESS:
i. Lack of evidence-based decision-making in digital education – Insufficient
use of data and research-based insights leads to misallocated investments,
ineffective strategies, and potentially detrimental impacts on both learning
outcomes and child wellbeing.
ii. Lack of standards regarding safe and effective use of digital in education
– Absence of clear standards leads to inconsistent practices, mixed messaging,
insufficient attention to online safety and privacy risks, and missed opportunities
to fully realize the benefits of technology.
Strategic approaches to address the bottlenecks
The five focus areas provide the structure through which the Strategy will be
implemented. The bottlenecks outlined in the previous section will be addressed
through targeted, strategic and evidence-based activities across each of the five
areas, with cost-effective approaches prioritized given funding constraints. Tailored
approaches are needed to reach children in school, out of school, and in disrupted
education contexts across development and humanitarian settings, with a particular
focus on underserved areas and an undeterred lens on equity and inclusion. This
includes flexible modalities, such as remote and blended learning, that combine the
strengths of digital tools with personalised support to reach learners both in school
and out of school.
Tailored approaches are needed to reach children
in school, out of school, and in disrupted education
contexts across development and humanitarian
settings, with a particular focus on underserved areas
and an undeterred lens on equity and inclusion.
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1. TEACHER EMPOWERMENT
To empower teachers as well as facilitators (especially in non-formal education
contexts), strengthen capacity and effectiveness, improve retention and help address
the teacher shortage, UNICEF will focus on the following, while ensuring solutions
are co-designed with teachers for relevance, ownership, and impact:
i. Teacher training: Providing pre-service and tailored Continuous Professional
Development (CPD) programmes supported by technology (offline and online),
prioritised towards context-specific needs and high-impact areas such as
structured pedagogy and teaching at the
right level. CPD can also deepen subject
expertise, strengthen digital pedagogy
capabilities, and incorporate teacher peer
mentoring to foster collaboration, shared
learning, and practical support among
educators, empowering them to deliver
effective, engaging learning experiences.
ii. Motivation and retention: Designing initiatives that enhance teacher and
educator satisfaction, foster professional growth and improve retention to
build a stable and capable workforce. This includes leveraging digital platforms,
such as AI-driven tools, to reduce administrative burdens by streamlining
communication and automating routine tasks. Additionally, teacher platforms
ideally enable collaboration, socialisation, and peer networking among
educators, celebrate achievements, and support rewarding career pathways.
iii. Hybrid and remote teaching: Hybrid and remote teaching allows a single
teacher or educator to reach students across multiple locations simultaneously,
addressing shortages of specialized educators, especially in rural or underserved
areas. Digital tools can support a hybrid model where remote teachers
collaborate with local educators, facilitators or teaching assistants. This approach
enhances flexibility, making it easier to fill vacancies and attracting qualified
individuals to teaching by offering location flexibility, including part-time work
from home. In emergencies, remote teaching ensures learning continuity when
children cannot physically attend school, while a hybrid model is ideal for safe
spaces with remote teachers and local educators. Parents and caregivers also
play a vital role by creating an enabling learning environment and collaborating
with teachers during remote or hybrid learning, particularly in supporting
foundational learning at home and in emergencies or underserved contexts.
Parents and caregivers also
play a vital role by creating an
enabling learning environment and
collaborating with teachers.
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DIGITAL EDUCATION AND AI STRATEGY: BEYOND DIGITAL AS USUAL
2 . FOUNDAT IONAL LEARNING
To support foundational literacy and numeracy using digital technologies,
UNICEF will focus on:
i. Adaptive, self-paced and personalised learning: The most effective learning
solutions leverage continuous assessment and data-driven insights to tailor
digital learning experiences to individual levels and needs automatically (., they
are “adaptive”), while also addressing unique learner preferences and interests
(., they are “personalised”). This approach, grounded in human-centered
teaching and learning and increasingly supported by artificial intelligence, is
particularly critical in the early stages of literacy and numeracy, where mastering
foundational skills requires extensive individualized support and carefully
tailored content. Adaptive and personalised digital learning has relatively
strong evidence of impact on improving learning outcomes as well as student
engagement. Teachers also benefit from actionable insights to tailor their
teaching strategies, and to support differentiated instruction, helping teachers
manage larger class sizes more effectively. It can also reduce administrative
burden for teachers, such as through automated marking of assessments.
ii. Accessible learning: Adapting and delivering digital textbooks and learning
content to be fully accessible to children with disabilities, culturally contextualised,
aligned with curricula, available in local languages, and tailored to individual
learner levels. UNICEF is already leveraging AI to achieve significantly greater
efficiency and cost-effectiveness in content adaptation. Flexible delivery methods
will be critical to reach teachers and learners across diverse contexts, including
through social messaging platforms on low-cost smartphones.
3. SK ILLS AND COMPETENCIES
To equip children and youth with the skills needed for a digital future,
UNICEF will focus on:
i. 21st-century skills: Integrating digital programmes that foster a range of
21st-century skills, such as critical thinking, learning how to learn, collaboration, digital
literacy including computational thinking and artificial intelligence skills, green skills
and socioemotional skills, with a strong emphasis on empowering girls in this area.
ii. Multiple flexible pathways towards accredited competencies and skills:
Designing and implementing innovative digital solutions to enable learners,
especially out-of-school learners and adolescent girls, with flexible digital and
hybrid education pathways to complete secondary (or equivalent) education,
including through digital assessment and (micro) certification.
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4. S YSTEMS STRENGTHENING
To establish enabling environments for governments to have effective digital
education systems, UNICEF will focus on:
i. National plans: Ensuring all programme countries have a robust, inclusive
and impact-focused national plan and corresponding policies for digital
transformation and ICT in education, including ensuring resilient education
systems during emergencies.
ii. Monitoring systems: Strengthening Education and School Management
Information Systems (EMIS/SMIS) to better track out-of-school children, measure
learning outcomes, and improve data-driven analysis, planning and decision-
making, including through leveraging AI.
iii. Integrated and interoperable monitoring, teaching and learning platforms
and solutions set in a sustainable financing roadmap: Ensure digital platforms,
tools, and content are integrated and complementary rather than operating as
isolated or parallel systems. This includes platforms for governments, school
leaders, teachers, parents, and learners, as well as specialized apps for foundational
learning, content repositories, monitoring systems, communication tools, and
digital assessment and micro-certification. Such integration fosters efficiency,
scalability and alignment with educational goals, while a sustainable financing
roadmap ensures long-term impact and equity.
iv. Infrastructure and connectivity: Giga — a partnership between UNICEF
and ITU — plays a crucial role in the digitalisation journey by ensuring schools
and communities are connected to the internet and by providing real-time
mapping and monitoring of connectivity. This includes critical insights into where
connectivity gaps are most severe. Connectivity enables teachers and learners to
access digital platforms that require an internet connection, while also enabling
more efficient and real-time monitoring. Solarisation of schools and “collaborative
use” models for cost-effective device usage will also be priorities for UNICEF.
Grounded in human-centered teaching and learning and
increasingly supported by artificial intelligence, is particularly
critical in the early stages of literacy and numeracy, where
mastering foundational skills requires extensive individualized
support and carefully tailored content.
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5. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
To establish UNICEF as a global thought leader across key areas of digital education and
support the forging of strategic partnerships and fundraising, UNICEF will focus on:
i. Positioning and thought leadership around critical global issues for
improving education outcomes: Developing and advocating UNICEF’s position
and vision around key strategic shifts and on critical issues such as closing the
gender digital divide, online safety, powering schools with renewable energy,
mapping and connecting schools worldwide, providing device usage limits
for children, EdTech for Good, inclusive and effective integration of AI, digital
solutions to the teacher shortage, and accessible solutions for children with
disabilities. This work will be closely aligned with broader efforts to champion
social and behavioural change across the education system. It will be carried out
in close collaboration with relevant UNICEF divisions as well as partners.
ii. Standards: Establishing and advancing global standards, including through
UNICEF’s EdTech for Good Framework, to guide annual global EdTech
investments – anticipated to reach USD $620 billion by 2030 – towards safer and
more inclusive, scalable, sustainable and impactful models and approaches.
This vision will be realised through strategic collaboration with leading EdTech
industry players, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), governments, teacher
networks, and civil society organizations (CSOs). UNICEF’s Child-Lens Investing
Framework will be leveraged to ensure investments prioritise the rights, needs,
and wellbeing of children. Digital and technology standards around safety,
privacy and interoperability will be guided by ICTD.
Guided by the common framework, the Six Pillars for the Digital Transformation
of Education (UNESCO, UNICEF, GPE and ITU), and UNICEF’s EdTech for Good
Framework, UNICEF will move from initiative-focused implementation to
strategic implementation, supporting the deployment at scale of proven
solutions and implementation models aligned with the new Strategy,
including for fundraising and human resources.
The Strategy will transition UNICEF
to focus on a smaller number
of high-profile and scalable
initiatives, all focused on the five
priority areas (the large circles in
the diagram below, with smaller
circles representing the sub-areas
of each priority area). Fundraising
efforts will focus on broader
strategic focus areas in line with
Guided by
1. Six Pillars for the Digital Transformation of Education
(UNESCO, UNICEF, GPE and ITU)
2. UNICEF’s EdTech for Good Framework
3. UNICEF’s Child Lens Investing Framework
4. Principles for Digital Development
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or encompassing the key areas of the Strategy. There will be centralized coordination
of donor engagements to ensure alignment with the Strategy. Engagements through
Private Fundraising and Partnerships (PFP), Public Partnerships Division (PPD),
National Commissions (Natcoms) and others will prioritise more flexible funding for
implementation of the broader Strategy, rather than specific initiatives or areas
within the strategy, especially with bigger donors. This greater flexibility will empower
regional and country offices to undertake more holistic and strategic activities tailored
to their specific contexts and needs. The EdTech for Good Framework – which aligns
with the Principles for Digital Development – serves as a unifying element of the
strategy, ensuring it is human-centred and inclusive, and guiding and integrating its
various components while highlighting UNICEF’s distinctive contributions and value.
Diagram 2: Anchoring UNICEF digital education initiatives in a strategy-
driven approach
Teacher
Training
Hybrid and
Remote Teaching
Motivation
and
Retention
National
Plans
Monitoring
Integrated
Systems
Infrastructure
and
Connectivity
Adaptive
Learning
Accessible
Learning
21st Century
Skills
Multiple
Flexible
Pathways
Standards
Positioning
ED TECH
FOR GOOD
TEACHER
EMPOWERMENT
FOUNDATIONAL
LEARNING
SKILLS AND
COMPETENCIES
SYSTEMS
STRENGTHENING
THOUGHT
LEADERSHIP
RESEARCH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS SUSTAINABLE FINANCING AI INNOVATION CAPACITY BUILDING
In the Strategy, priority will be given to initiatives that effectively support one or
more of the thematic areas. In addition, the best solutions that meet the EdTech
for Good criteria, particularly those demonstrating inclusiveness, sustainability and
robust evidence of impact will be prioritised for scaling. This marks a significant
departure from previous practices, shifting from a more opportunistic and funding-
driven approach to a centralised, criteria-based decision-making process. The new
approach focuses on a small number of substantial global activities, according to
how well they meet the criteria and strategic alignment with the new Strategy. Cross-
cutting areas critical to the successful implementation of the Strategy are Research,
Strategic Partnerships, Sustainable Financing, AI, Innovation, and Capacity Building,
in collaboration with relevant divisions including Generation Unlimited, Information
and Communication Technology Division (ICTD), Innocenti, Natcoms, Office of
Innovation (OOI), PFP, PPD and Programme Group (PG).
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This section outlines the core drivers essential for delivering the Strategy and
achieving dramatically accelerated results for learning and the global impact of
UNICEF’s work in education.
Outcomes and evidence-based approaches
UNICEF digital education will shift from an outputs-based logic to an outcomes-
based logic (this means ‘did children learn?’ is more important than ‘did children take
part?’). To ensure the most impactful, child-centred and cost-effective outcomes, the
implementation of the Strategy will be guided by the best available evidence of what
works in digital education and broader educational practices, prioritising the rights,
needs, and wellbeing of children and young people. This includes personalised
and adaptive learning (., “TaRL – Teaching at the Right Level”) especially for
Core drivers of the Strategy
SECTION 4
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foundational learning; empowering and supporting teachers (., “structured
pedagogy”); best practices in remote teaching to reach children who cannot
physically access school; and accessible and assistive technologies for children with
disabilities. Initiatives will integrate ongoing evidence generation to assess and
improve their effectiveness. This will be through ongoing data collection, various
forms of implementation research, monitoring, and targeted reviews to identify
and address bottlenecks. In addition, initiatives will have rigorous independent
research and evaluation focused on their impact, with a particular emphasis on
the use of experimental or quasi-experimental methods to assess impact on
learning outcomes, and the cost-effectiveness of these outcomes. For government
monitoring and ownership these activities will gradually be integrated in national
education and teacher management information systems. All digital education
activities will be based on the best of the existing evidence of what works and will
contribute to new evidence to help shape the global education sector.
Standards, monitoring and KPIs
All UNICEF digital education activities will need to meet minimum standards before
being implemented at scale and go through the EdTech for Good review process.
This includes having evidence of impact, robust online safety and data protection,
scalability in low-resource contexts, and a clear sustainability strategy covering cost-
effectiveness, government ownership and an exit strategy to ensure continuity if and
when UNICEF transitions out of active support. A work plan will be set in place for all
global digital education initiatives to be reviewed annually. Those that score highest
will continue and will be prioritised, and those that do not reach the required standard
will be discontinued or deprioritised for investment. The expectations and criteria for
success will be accessible to all. A review will be conducted of number of beneficiaries
(calculated in a consistent manner across all initiatives), evidence of impact, funding
raised and available, staffing, and all cost figures, these will be updated quarterly. This
information will be a prerequisite to determining what is most effective and warrants
scaling. Improved decision-making for greater impact depends on access to this data
and so it will be an immediate priority within the Strategy, coordinated by the Digital
Education & Learning Innovation Hub team.
All UNICEF digital education activities will
need to meet minimum standards before
being implemented at scale and go through
the EdTech for Good review process.
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In addition, the following key performance indicators will monitor all multi-country,
implementation-focused digital education activities:
1. Reach: This will be defined as active beneficiaries, ., in the case of a digital
platform or app, measured in terms of active usage of the platform/app over the
past month, by country, ideally with evidence of concrete activities undertaken
(such as course completions).
2. Sustained impact on learning outcomes: This will be evaluated through
assessments, using robust methodologies (experimental or quasi-experimental
design), and where possible with standardized assessment instruments to
ensure reliability, validity and comparability of data.
3. Equity and inclusion: This will require disaggregated data on reach and
outcomes by key factors, including at minimum gender and disability.
Additionally, it will involve analysing data to assess implementation efforts in
underserved communities, ensuring the reach goes beyond better resourced
and urban areas.
4. Scalability and cost-effectiveness: Costs will be calculated with a consistent
and transparent methodology across initiatives, accounting for expenses such
as devices, connectivity, operational costs of digital platforms and tools, and
teacher training, while also considering the cost-effectiveness of comparable
non-digital interventions. This will enable comparable “cost per child per year”
figures across initiatives to inform decision-making. Combining consistent cost-
data with consistent learning outcomes data is what will enable UNICEF to build
a rigorous understanding of the cost-effectiveness of each initiative. This is done
with the recognition that contextual factors have significant influence on the
costs of an intervention, and that reaching the most marginalized learners will
often require legitimately higher costs per child. Developing associated global
public goods that provide guidance on cost-effectiveness in digital education
will also be a significant contribution to the global education community and will
help to address a sector-wide challenge.
5. Alignment with country needs, government priorities and system
strengthening: This will cover alignment with, and improvements made to,
national ICT in education plans, policies and strategies, and level of government
Combining consistent cost-data with consistent learning
outcomes data is what will enable UNICEF to build a rigorous
understanding of the cost-effectiveness of each initiative.
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involvement and ownership in implementation, scaling and funding (measured
by percentage contribution), as well as improvements in national education
system indicators such as teacher capacity.
Teachers as a systemic entry point
Implementation will focus on mobilizing and equipping millions of teachers
in supporting hundreds of millions of children. UNICEF will establish close
collaborations with global teacher networks such as Education International,
and national teacher training institutions. Scale-up work will focus on equipping
teachers and educators more broadly as the primary direct users of digital in
education, across formal and informal education as well as home environments
(such as in emergencies). This will complement system-level work directly with
governments. UNICEF will prioritise bespoke solutions for teachers that enable
sharing, socialisation, peer networking, and remote teaching, as well as reducing
administrative load. UNICEF will also prioritise bespoke solutions to enhancing
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foundational literacy and numeracy, as well as innovative approaches to skilling,
assessment and certification. UNICEF will leverage AI-driven approaches to adapt
and contextualise teaching and learning materials, including accessibility, translation,
and curriculum alignment. The teacher focus will also create synergies across
initiatives and solutions, with various platforms, content and tools working together
in a modular ecosystem; and leveraging innovation to improve impact, scale and
adaptability in low-resource contexts.
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Strategic partnerships for implementation
UNICEF will collaborate with key regional and global partners, including leading
technology companies that already operate on a significant scale and drive cutting-
edge innovation. The focus of these partnerships will be on large scale systems
strengthening and implementation to mobilize and build the capacity of millions
of teachers in reaching hundreds of millions of children. Working with the biggest
organizations in the K-12 EdTech sector - those which reach at least 20+ and ideally
100+ million children – will enable UNICEF to achieve its ambition to improve learning
for hundreds of millions of children in learning poverty. At the global level, UNICEF
will work with a select group of organizations through high-impact, long-term
strategic partnerships on sustainable and proven pathways to improving learning
outcomes at scale. In addition, interoperable, specialised solutions and innovations
will complement these platforms to respond to context-specific needs and gaps.
At the national level, UNICEF will also collaborate closely with local organizations,
recognizing their vital role in delivering contextually relevant and curriculum-aligned
solutions, fostering localised innovation, and ensuring the reach and sustainability
of initiatives at the community level. This integrated approach enhances the learning
ecosystem, driving meaningful and scalable impact. UNICEF will further leverage its
cross-sector expertise to ensure
adaptability to low-resource
contexts. This includes “high tech
on low tech” solutions – bringing
cutting-edge innovations to low-
cost devices – while addressing
key challenges such as bridging
divides for children with disabilities,
adolescent girls and linguistic
minorities; ensuring online safety and privacy; promoting green energy solutions;
enabling low-cost device-sharing models, and expanding low-bandwidth and offline
capabilities. UNICEF will ensure that teachers remain central across all these efforts.
Innovation and leading technical expertise
Innovation within digital education will act as a pathfinder and iterative testing
ground across countries and contexts, helping to identify, validate and co-design
impactful and cost-effective solutions across the Strategy’s five key pillars –
particularly in areas where critical gaps exist and there is clear need, and where
such solutions and their sustainable financing models have yet to be developed. An
example is UNICEF’s ongoing innovation in leveraging AI to drastically reduce the
cost of producing multi-lingual and Accessible Digital Textbooks and storybooks for
children with and without disabilities, while simultaneously enhancing their quality
and impact. In addition, UNICEF’s Learning Cabinet platform curates, promotes and
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UNICEF will leverage AI-driven approaches
to adapt and contextualise teaching and
learning materials, including accessibility,
translation, and curriculum alignment.
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– where feasible – supports leading EdTech solutions aligned with the EdTech for
Good Framework. It guides governments and schools in selecting context-relevant,
inclusive, innovative and impactful solutions. It will also provide guidance on models
for effective implementation and scaling to ensure better, more cost-effective
investments in EdTech. Ideally, as countries establish multiple EdTech solutions and
platforms, they will be designed to interoperate and integrate seamlessly into a
cohesive ecosystem.
AI has enormous potential to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness across
many areas of education. UNICEF will therefore prioritise being at the forefront
of AI-driven innovation in service to teacher training and empowerment, and to
accelerate learning outcomes. This includes leveraging AI for content adaptation
(., accessibility, translation, adaptation to individual learner levels), teachers
(., developing tailored lesson plans), learners (., personalised and adaptive
learning), and broader system-level applications (., early warning systems for
dropout prevention).
Achieving the Strategy’s significant ambition requires access to top technical
expertise in the five focus areas, ensuring digital education decisions are guided by
the best insights and are at the cutting edge of innovation. An advisory group will be
established with global leading innovators, technology implementers, government
representatives, and researchers. This group will also serve to champion the work of
UNICEF in digital education broadly across the education sector and through their
input and association will amplify the work on thought leadership.
Sustainable financing and
scalable business models
UNICEF will partner with the key financiers driving digital transformation of education
through billions of dollars annually. This includes EdTech partners, International
Financial Institutions (IFIs), partnership alliances, the European Union, national
governments, major donors/foundations and specific EdTech donors. This will
enable UNICEF to have an outsized impact both directly as an implementing agency
and indirectly through global thought leadership, standard setting and strategic
collaboration to influence investments. UNICEF’s EdTech for Good Framework and
Child-Lens Investing Framework, alongside UNICEF’s broader education strategy, can
UNICEF’s ongoing innovation leverages AI to drastically reduce the
cost of producing multi-lingual and Accessible Digital Textbooks
and storybooks for children with and without disabilities, while
simultaneously enhancing their quality and impact.
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influence and shape more impactful, cost-effective, scalable, sustainable, safe, child-
centred and inclusive investments in global digital transformation of education.
A scalable and sustainable business model is essential to fund long-term hosting,
maintenance and R&D for digital learning platforms and content. These will
complement government-managed and funded digital platforms and apps and
enable scaling in countries where governments currently lack the capacity and/or
funding to maintain and sustain such
platforms. A promising business model
– already widely used in technology,
gaming and increasingly EdTech
industries – enables popular products
to be freely available to hundreds of
millions of active users. This is known as
a ‘freemium model’, through which the
large majority of users have free access
to basic services, subsidised by the
minority of users that pay for premium
services. UNICEF will work with key global partners to develop a sustainable and
innovative business model that leverages economies of scale and, at the same time,
minimizes the disparity in educational experience and benefits between the majority
of free users and minority of paying users.
Enhanced internal capacity
Expanding UNICEF’s capacity will be key to success, and this will include upskilling of
national staff, building regional capacity, and augmenting HQ capacity to manage
and enhance partnerships with global EdTech companies and to coordinate
implementation of the Strategy. Investing in strengthening internal capacity will
also harmonize and improve the impact of current approaches and address the
current fragmentation of UNICEF’s work and approach across countries. It will
require upskilling a subset of the team, across the organization, to work with
EdTech companies, IFIs and Ministries of Finance, and with governments more
broadly on national plans, policies, monitoring, pre-service and in-service teacher
training and national digital platforms. This will also help facilitate the shift from
UNICEF-led implementation at smaller scale to working with governments on joint
implementation at larger scale. Standardized JDs for digital education specialists
and officers at regional and national level will also be developed, following the T4D
model, including digital education elements to be included in standard education
specialist and education officer JDs. Enhanced collaboration between education
staff and T4D will foster mutual capacity building, and ICTD can support in building
the technical competencies of staff. Work to build internal capacity, and oversight of
the roles outlined in the new JDs, will be the role of the Digital Education & Learning
Innovation Hub team.
UNICEF’s Learning Cabinet platform
curates, promotes and – where
feasible – supports leading EdTech
solutions aligned with the EdTech for
Good Framework.
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In the first phase, the focus for implementation will be on approximately 30
countries across diverse contexts, which will act as catalysts and influencers within
their regions. These countries will be prioritised for the implementation of global
partnership activities – having impact at scale on four of the priority areas: teachers,
foundational learning, skills and systems strengthening (thought leadership will be
mainly covered at HQ level). All four areas will not necessarily be implemented in
each country, rather, the area that best addresses national education bottlenecks
and where there is currently a gap in the digital ecosystem will be prioritised.
Priority countries
for implementation
SECTION 5
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DIGITAL EDUCATION AND AI STRATEGY: BEYOND DIGITAL AS USUAL
A comprehensive evidence-generation approach will ensure active
monitoring of impact, progress, identifying areas for improvement, and
capturing lessons learned to inform and support scalable implementation.
In general, all countries will be supported through standard setting and
country-level guidance, including those generated during the first phase.
Priority countries will be selected where:
i. There is a viable pathway to achieving rapid impact at significant scale
on one or more of the five focus areas.
ii. There is existing UNICEF and government capacity, appetite and
collaboration to enable large-scale implementation.
iii. There are prospects for funding and support from key donors and
partners.
iv. There is commitment from all relevant stakeholders to work in
accordance with the Strategy.
In each region, at least one regional champion country and influential
voice in digital transformation and education innovation will advocate
for the Strategy. UNICEF will work closely with these regional leaders and
influencers to share best practices, drive global momentum, and accelerate
progress. Some countries will have their own resources to complement
fundraising efforts for the Strategy.
UNICEF and UNESCO’s Gateways initiative, launched in 2022 during the
Transforming Education Summit, will facilitate knowledge exchange and cross-
country learning through its network of member countries – leveraging study
visits, webinars and shared lessons to strengthen education systems and
drive scalable, sustainable impact.
In implementing and scaling the Strategy, there will be a particular
focus on Africa and where the learning crisis is deepest. During 2026,
implementation of the Strategy will be gradually expanded, adapting
approaches based on lessons from the first phase, and aiming to reach
100+ countries by 2030. Solutions will build on lessons learned from
UNICEF’s extensive experience implementing digital learning across diverse
contexts and also will seek to meet the needs of children in humanitarian
settings, building on initiatives such as Learning Passport and Akelius.
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In implementing and
scaling the Strategy,
there will be a
particular focus on
Africa where the
learning crisis is
deepest.
18 Cohort One
Countries Include:
Benin
Bolivia
Brazil
Chad
Côte d’Ivoire
Egypt
Ghana
Guinea
India
Jordan
Kenya
Kyrgyzstan
Lao PDR
Pakistan
Philippines
Sudan
Tanzania
Ukraine
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DIGITAL EDUCATION AND AI STRATEGY: BEYOND DIGITAL AS USUAL
From tech-driven to
human-centred approaches, with
teachers and learners at the centre:
UNICEF will shift from technology-driven
approaches towards human-centred and
culturally appropriate digital education,
empowering and supporting teachers,
strengthening their capacity to effectively
use and shape technology, and prioritising inclusive,
personalised, and adaptive solutions that address the
diverse needs and contexts of both educators and
learners.
From standalone digital
learning to integrated
digital transformation:
There will be a shift from digital
learning as a standalone domain to
a more integrated and cross-
sectoral approach to digital
transformation. This reflects the
interconnected realities of today’s digital age, where
technology impacts not just how children learn but
how education systems are designed, managed and
improved.
To deliver on the goal of accelerating progress in addressing the multiple educational crises, UNICEF’s work in
digital education will need to go through several strategic and deliberate shifts – changing from current practices to
establish a new way of operating. In parallel, jointly with partners, UNICEF will develop global thought leadership
to advocate for and champion the key strategic shifts needed in digital education practices and decision-making.
Together, these efforts will drive progress in addressing the global learning crisis, including in emergencies and the
most challenging contexts.
UNICEF will enhance global coordination, accountability and oversight of digital education and learning innovation,
led by the Digital Education & Learning Innovation Hub team. This will ensure clarity of mandate, roles and
responsibilities, more transparent information sharing including on financing, reach, impact and cost-effectiveness,
and ultimately greater impact for children.
Equity will be a defining lens across all shifts, with explicit prioritization of children in underserved communities and
those facing gender, disability, linguistic and connectivity-related digital divides.
1 2
Eight strategic shifts to
operationalize the Strategy
SECTION 6
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From outputs
to outcomes:
UNICEF digital education will shift
from an outputs-based logic to an
outcomes-based logic (this means
‘did children learn?’ is more
important than ‘did children take
part?’). As part of this strategic shift,
all digital education initiatives will be underpinned by
robust research and based on the best of the existing
evidence of what works, while also contributing to
new evidence to help shape the global education
sector. Impact measurement will include a clear
equity dimension, using disaggregated indicators and
research designs that assess whether digital
approaches are reducing or widening learning gaps.
From ad hoc approaches
to context-sensitive models
anchored in global standards:
6 UNICEF will shift from inconsistent
approaches in digital education to
setting clear global minimum
standards. All digital education
activities will go through the EdTech
for Good review process, and include a clearly
articulated sustainability and cost-effectiveness strategy
covering government ownership and an exit plan.
UNICEF’s frameworks and guidance will be field-tested
and adapted to realities on the ground, with models for
acceleration and scale tailored to country typologies
and contexts.
From “one child, one
device” to dynamic, shared,
collaborative learning:
While personalized, one-to-one
device programs unlock adaptive
learning pathways, UNICEF will
broaden its focus to champion
social, playful, creative and hands-
on engagement. This will include technology-enabled
approaches that foster collaborative problem solving,
peer-to-peer learning, and gender empowerment.
UNICEF will also develop and test cost-effective,
context-sensitive device-sharing models, making
optimal use of limited resources while maximizing
learning impact.
Championing a balanced
and ethical approach to
digital education:
UNICEF will prioritize digital well-being,
online safety, data protection, and
ethical engagement, while equipping
children with the skills to navigate the
digital world safely, critically and
confidently. Digital approaches must not displace
essential non-digital activities such as unstructured play,
physical activity, in-person social interaction, and
foundational skills like handwriting; instead, they should
enhance—not replace—meaningful human connection
and social interaction, all of which are essential for
children’s holistic development.
5 6
7 8
From initiatives to
strategy-driven scaling:
To maximize impact and coherence,
the Strategy represents a major shift
from an initiative- and opportunity-
driven approach to a centralised,
criteria-based approach. This will be
anchored in the five priority areas and guided by the
EdTech for Good Framework – which ensures human-
centred, inclusive, and evidence-informed design.
UNICEF will also move from initiative-focused
fundraising, implementation and posts to strategic
fundraising, implementation and posts, and
centralised coordination of donor engagement.
From scattered approaches
to big bets:
While recognizing the importance of
local partnerships, at the global level,
a small number of high profile
(centrally managed) global
partnerships will be launched that are
‘big bets’ in digital education intended to have
significant global impact on learning (+100 million
beneficiaries). At country level, they will directly
respond to key identified challenges, ensuring
relevance and alignment with national priorities.
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The urgency and promise of digital transformation in education
UNICEF’s vision for digital education
A model for sustainable and accelerated impact
Five focus areas addressing critical education challenges and bottlenecks
Strategic approaches to address the bottlenecks
Core drivers of the Strategy
Outcomes and evidence-based approaches
Standards, monitoring and KPIs
Teachers as a systemic entry point
Strategic partnerships for implementation
Innovation and leading technical expertise
Sustainable financing and scalable business models
Enhanced internal capacity
Priority countries for implementation
Ten strategic shifts to operationalize the Strategy
