AI in education: how artificial intelligence is reshaping Czech schools

In just two years, artificial intelligence has made the fastest journey in the history of educational technology — from ‘banned ChatGPT’ to an issue now occupying most headteachers, ICT coordinators and classroom teachers. This overview summarises where Czech education stands in 2026, what genuinely works in teaching, what is still mostly marketing and how to work with AI sensibly.

The aim is not to convince you that AI will solve everything. It is to give you a balanced overview so you can form your own opinion — without hype or pessimism.

Where we stand in 2026

Schools mainly use AI for three things: preparing materials (lesson plans, worksheets, tests and written assessments), administration (records, parent communication and meeting summaries) and working with pupils (individual support, languages, creative tasks and preventative activities).

According to independent surveys (the Czech School Inspectorate, PAQ Research and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports), roughly one in two lower and upper secondary teachers now actively uses AI, but fewer than one in ten schools has adopted it systematically. Most teachers are still using AI on an ad hoc basis — without sharing their practice, without rules and without support from leadership.

What works

The following uses have now been tested in practice and genuinely save teachers time or improve teaching quality:

• Saving teachers time on preparing materials — typically 30–50% on recurring tasks (worksheets, tests and presentations).
• Tailoring tasks to pupils' ability levels — easily creating three difficulty levels of the same task.
• Quickly creating alternative versions of tests to discourage copying — the same topic, different questions.
• Supporting early-career teachers with planning — AI can suggest a lesson plan for a new teacher to build on.
• Rewording written assessments in respectful language.
• Quickly summarising long texts (curricula, teaching guidance and academic articles) into bullet points.
• Creating worksheets for pupils with specific learning difficulties (larger text, simpler instructions and visual support).

What does not work (yet)

Many promises surrounding AI remain unfulfilled in 2026. Be sceptical when someone claims otherwise:

• AI as a fully fledged ‘automated tutor’ without a teacher — it lacks relationships, context and the ability to respond to non-verbal cues.
• Automated assessment of essays — the quality is still inadequate, and without a teacher it is unfair.
• Detecting cheating with AI — unreliable, with a high rate of false positives. The risk of false accusations is substantial.
• Predicting pupil attainment — without educational context, this does more harm than good.

How AI is changing the teacher's role

The most interesting shift is not in the technology, but in what teachers have time for. Routine material creation shrinks from hours to minutes, allowing teachers to devote more energy to what AI cannot do — talking with a pupil, providing individual support, leading a discussion and building relationships with parents.

In practice, it looks like this: preparing a lesson that used to take 45 minutes takes just 10–15 minutes with AI. The teacher invests the remaining 30 minutes in understanding the topic more deeply, thinking through specific questions or planning differentiated activities.

What this means for school leadership

In 2026, headteachers face three questions: safety (how to ensure AI does not compromise pupils' data), equity (so some classes do not miss out) and development (how to gradually help staff start working with AI). Without a clear plan, a school can easily split into ‘AI enthusiasts’ and ‘AI opponents’ — damaging the atmosphere in the staffroom.

We describe the recommended approach in a separate article, How to introduce AI in a school. In brief: a designated lead + a policy + a pilot + evaluation + wider rollout.

AI and the new Framework Education Programme

The new Framework Education Programme (RVP) emphasises digital competence, critical thinking and information literacy. AI is a natural tool for all three areas — not as a subject to memorise, but as a tool pupils learn to use critically: checking outputs, understanding limitations, crafting good prompts and recognising hallucinations.

In practice, this means that a school which involves pupils in working with AI (in line with age limits) meets the RVP's expected learning outcomes more easily than a school that ignores AI.

Risks and how to manage them

• Pupils' personal data — never enter it into public AI services. Use generic descriptions.
• Dependence on one tool — the AI market is changing, so do not tie the whole school to a single service.
• Loss of pupil independence — without a teaching framework, AI becomes a ‘cheating assistant’. Set clear expectations about what is and is not acceptable when using AI.
• Division among staff — without a shared policy, AI becomes a source of conflict.
• Failure to critically review output — AI can lie convincingly. Teach pupils to verify information.

Where things are heading

Within 2–3 years, working with AI will be as routine for teachers as using Bakaláři or EduPage. Specialised educational tools will emerge that work with the Czech RVP, teaching methods and differentiation — rather than functioning as general-purpose chatbots.

In five years, a secondary school will almost certainly face this question from parents: ‘How do children work with AI at your school?’ The response should not be defensive, but a calm explanation of the school's policy, specific rules and examples from lessons.

Where to go next

For practical tips for teachers, see AI for teachers. For school leaders, the key guide is How to introduce AI in a school. For an overview of specific tools, read AI tools for schools.