Can students use AI without losing core competencies?

DepEd approves AI in schools with full disclosure requirements.

According to the latest data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Filipino students are lagging 3 to 5 years behind their Southeast Asian neighbors in reading and math. Now, artificial intelligence enters the classroom.

While the world moves forward, the fear is that Filipino learners might use AI not as a wing, but as a crutch. Will 2026 be the year we bridge the gap, or the year our students become permanently dependent on AI?

The Department of Education recently blinked, launching DepEd Order No. 003, s. 2026 or the “Foundational Guidelines on AI in Basic Education.” For the first time, AI is officially allowed in public schools, but with a “human-in-the-loop” mandate.

Secretary Sonny Angara is adamant: AI must assist, not replace. New rules require full disclosure of AI use and prohibit teachers from using AI to grade students. However, reality check reveals massive holes in this digital net.

First, without a standardized AI-detector for Tagalog or local contexts, the mandate for honesty may simply teach students to be better at hiding their prompts.

Then, while the Department of Information and Communications Technology promises 100% access, 2025 Senate data confirms 12,000 schools remain offline. In areas without basic electricity, AI-driven learning is close to a fairy tale.

Last but not least, there is a cognitive risk: if a student already struggles with reading comprehension, over-reliance on AI-generated summaries could lead to functional illiteracy — where a student can produce an essay but cannot explain the ideas within it.

We are handing a high-speed tool to a generation still struggling to find its footing. Before we celebrate AI-driven classrooms, we must ask: Are we teaching them to think, or just teaching them to prompt?

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