Guidelines on the use of AI have been developed to help each school set its own rules for using AI, with didactics and methods being drawn up

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes more prevalent in schools, there is a need to establish principles and rules for responsible use. A group within the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport has developed guidelines under the title “School in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Principles and Guidelines for Responsible Use”. The guidelines will help each school to develop its own rules for the use of AI, although it is not compulsory to do so. The National Agency for Education’s EdTech Centre will advise schools. University researchers are currently carrying out research and also developing didactics and methods for the application of DI.

“We are exposed to artificial intelligence almost every day, and the presence of this technology in schools is inevitable. The education community needs to have clear guidelines on how to integrate these technologies into education and school administration, how to use them responsibly, and how to ensure academic integrity. Artificial intelligence is an opportunity to make routine work easier. However, it is necessary to set boundaries and rules on how and why we use these new technologies in schools,” says Deputy Minister Jonas Petkevičius.

The list of permitted AI tools to be used in a school will be approved by the Head of the school

It is proposed that a list of permitted AI tools should be drawn up for each school, to be approved by the Head of the school. The guidelines detail how to tag the content generated by AI tools, how to create a list of permitted AI tools, and a model of such a list is provided. It is forbidden to list an AI tool if it uses emotion recognition, biometric tracking, social ranking, etc., or if the tool is not declared data protection compliant.

The risk assessment criteria for the use of AI tools have been developed in accordance with the AI Act. They were set up by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation together with the State Digital Solutions Agency.

Personal data and other non-public information, such as pupils’ names, addresses, school name, are not used in the AI tools. Pupils and teachers need to be informed about what information can be shared and what must remain private.

Criterion of use: added value for education

The guidelines emphasise that AI should only be used where it adds clear value to teaching or learning. Application of AI should add variety to the learning process by helping to personalise tasks, reduce routine, and provide new opportunities for creativity or exploration. For example, by using AI in a geography lesson, students can create climate change scenarios. Such scenarios are then discussed in class. AI can also help to identify repetitive errors, check grammar or draft general comments.

It is proposed to stipulate that students can only use AI with the teacher’s permission, with prior agreement on what tools will be used and how the work will be assessed. For example, students may state that “At work, ChatGPT helped me find ideas, but I did the analysis myself”. Students must also be taught to tag content generated with an AI tool.

The emphasis is that decisions on AI are always made by the teacher who decides where AI can assist and where it is better to do without it. The teacher remains the guiding force behind the curriculum, deciding when to use AI as a support tool and when it is more important for students to develop their creativity, critical thinking and learning skills by themselves.

Virtual assistant

A virtual assistant, trained by EdTech Lithuania, can also be used to create rules. The assistant for school leaders helps them assess the suitability, risk and safety of AI tools. It is more of an information and advisory tool, and its results, like those of other AI tools, should be viewed with criticism.

More support tools to help schools with the use of AI

A wider range of support tools for teachers and pupils are also being developed on the application of AI. This year, the Research Council of Lithuania, together with universities, launched the project “Breakthrough in Educational Research”, funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. One part of this project is the development of a range of AI tools. For example, the VDU is conducting a study on whether AI improves learning, teaching and assessment. The study aims to help schools to figure out, using clear criteria, what a teacher needs to be able to do in order to apply AI in a meaningful way and not just for the sake of fashion. The University will develop a taxonomy of teachers’ AI competences, the first such instrument in Lithuania.

Klaipėda University is conducting a study on student assessment using AI. Thirty-six schools are piloting a platform with integrated AI that helps students better understand the tasks, reminds them where they went wrong and suggests where they need to improve. In this way, the teacher sees the whole learning journey of the student, not just the end result. The study will lead to the development of 3 programmes for teachers to develop their competences, as well as the creation of an interactive teaching tool. Kaunas University of Technology is also conducting a study on how AI can enhance inclusion of senior students. The study resulted in an inclusive education chatbot the integrates AI.

Copilot Chat licences bought for schools

The National Agency for Education has added an artificial intelligence programme to the standard licence package when purchasing software licences for schools. 330,000 licences will be renewed for pupils, with added access to M365 Copilot Chat, an artificial intelligence application, and over 20,000 licences for teachers. Nearly 760 more Microsoft 365 Copilot sub add-on licences with advanced AI features such as natural language queries, data analysis and visualisation, integration with Microsoft Graph, etc. will be distributed to schools. Distance training for all schools will be organised to present the features of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, how it interfaces with other Microsoft applications, security principles and practical application. More than €1.7 million has been allocated to purchase licences for teachers and schools. The licences are free of charge for students.

AI is used by majority of teachers

AI tools in schools are no longer new. The OECD’s TALIS report shows that 39% of Lithuanian teachers used AI in 2024. This was higher than the average for teachers in Estonia, Sweden and Finland, and above the OECD average.

A survey of general education school leaders and teachers on the use of AI (tools and platforms), conducted in May this year on the initiative of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, disclosed that around 68% of teachers use AI for their work. The teachers of IT, economics and life skills are most numerous in using these tools.

ChatGPT was the most popular, used by 95% of teachers. Google Gemini was used by 27%, Microsoft Copilot by 18%, Duolingo by 14% and DeepL by 12% of them.

Almost 3 out of 4 teachers who use AI in their work use it to prepare for lessons, draw up curricula or prepare other documents. More than half of the teachers who use AI in their work use AI in the classroom. Almost a fifth of teachers use AI to check homework, tests, check-works and other student work.

The most frequent users of AI before the lesson were teachers aged 56-60 years (76%), those aged 46-50 years during the lesson (59%), and those aged over 65 (32%) after school.

One in four school leaders surveyed reported a change in the activities of their schools as a result of adopting AI solutions. The change was most often seen in educational activities (88% of schools), less often in staff development (45%) and school management (36%). School leaders highlighted decreasing time consumption (83%), decreasing workload for school staff (58%) and increasing student engagement (59%).

Around 4% of schools already have policies in place for the use of AI, and 65% see a need for such policies in the future.

More than ten organisations contributed to the guidelines

The guidelines “School in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Principles and Guidelines for Responsible Use” were prepared by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the National Agency for Education, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, the Innovation Agency, the Artificial Intelligence Association of Lithuania, the Lithuanian School Leaders Association, the Association of Teachers of Informatics in Lithuania, the Lithuanian National Union of Students, the KTU Artificial Intelligence Competence Centre, the Lithuanian DigiTech Association Infobalt, the Council of Leaders of Lithuanian Pedagogue Associations, the EdTech Lithuania Association, the Unicorns LT Association, and the Vilnius City Municipality. The State Digital Solutions Agency and the Office of the Ombudsman for Academic Ethics and Procedures have also made important contributions to the guidelines.

“School in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI): Principles and Guidelines for Responsible Use” (in lithuanian).

Last updated: 29-01-2026

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