evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

Cyprus's Teacher-First AI Roadmap for Schools, Set Against a Widening PISA Gap

Cyprus · Nicosia · See the Cyprus profile · See the Nicosia profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 81% 33/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Cyprus's Ministry of Education announced an AI Roadmap in October 2025 prioritising teacher AI-literacy training ahead of student tool use, with the Minister explicitly noting there is 'not yet documented scientific research' on AI tools' added value for learning, even as Cyprus

51-53%
Maths/science underachievement (under-15s) (2025)
up from 35% to >60%
Reading underachievement (under-15s) (2023-2025)
Cyprus's Teacher-First AI Roadmap for Schools, Set Against a Widening PISA Gap

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, Cyprus
Period
October 2025 – ongoing (teacher rollout from September 2026)
Region (NUTS)
CY00
Keywords
education, AI policy, teacher training, curriculum governance

Context

The EU's 2025 Education and Training Monitor found under-15 underachievement in Cyprus rising sharply — maths/science underachievement up to 51-53% and reading underachievement up from 35% to over 60% between 2023 and 2025, with OECD/PISA-linked data placing Cyprus in the bottom quartile of 81 countries.

Activities

In October 2025, Cyprus's Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth announced an AI Roadmap for schools prioritising AI literacy over tool adoption — understanding what AI is and its ethical implications, integrated across subjects rather than as a standalone course — building on a cross-departmental Working Group on AI in Education and a national AI Taskforce approved by the Council of Ministers in January 2025. Teacher training will roll out 'to a large extent from September 2026,' ahead of wider student-facing use.

Conclusions

Education Minister Athena Michaelidou stated plainly that 'there is not yet documented scientific research on [AI's] added value for learning'; a Cyprus Mail editorial questioned whether AI can be implemented well given Cyprus's pre-existing systemic underachievement gaps, including unresolved concerns about teachers themselves using AI to shortcut grading.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years)
Staffing & skills
Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth, Cyprus, Cross-departmental Working Group on AI in Education, National AI Taskforce

Conditions for success

  • Prioritises teacher AI-literacy training before wider student-facing tool adoption
  • Roadmap integrates AI literacy across subjects rather than as a standalone course

Common failure modes

  • No documented scientific research yet on AI tools' added value for learning, per the Education Minister's own statement
  • Roadmap launches against a backdrop of sharply rising under-15 underachievement in maths, science and reading

Commonly funded by

ESF+ — European Social Fund Plus National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

Similar practices you may find useful