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AI adoption in higher education in developing countries, with a focus on Africa

Source article: Exploring the use and impact of artificial intelligence in higher education in Africa

Artificial intelligence is transforming higher education, but its adoption in developing countries has been overlooked. This study analysed this gap through a comprehensive systematic literature review, analysing AI's use and impact in higher education. A total of 1,521 articles were identified through databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar, with 63 selected for review. The findings indicate that AI is used in various higher education applications, including tutoring, administrat…

By the Truvace desk2 min read1 sourcePeer-reviewedTRV-2026-2106· cite & verify
Exploring the use and impact of artificial intelligence in higher education in Africa
Reading Wikipedia in the Classroom for Secondary School Students 09 by James Rhoda. CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Trace impact readingContested
P 68The P score combines the specificity and measured human impact of the grounded problem claim with the strength of this Trace’s cited sources.

Both sides are scored from claims and sources, not community votes.

G 65The G score combines the specificity and measured human impact of the grounded gain claim with the strength of this Trace’s cited sources.

In brief

A systematic literature review screened 1,521 articles from Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost and Google Scholar and selected 63 to examine how AI is used in higher education in developing countries. It found uses in tutoring, administrative tasks, instruction, curriculum development and new skills acquisition.

The review matters because adoption in developing nations has been overlooked, and its findings are meant to guide policymakers, educators and stakeholders. What remains unclear is how widely these patterns hold, since the authors note few explicit studies exist on AI adoption in these countries.

Main points

  1. The review began with 1,521 articles identified from four databases, and 63 were selected for analysis.
  2. Reported applications include tutoring, administrative tasks, instruction, curriculum development and facilitating new skills acquisition.
  3. Benefits cited include multitasking, ease of workloads and customised learning.
  4. Challenges include abuse by learners, resource limitations, skill gaps, data security concerns and ethical issues.

The gain

Across reviewed studies of higher education in developing countries, AI supported tutoring, administration, instruction and curriculum work, easing workloads and enabling customised learning.

The problem

The same body of literature reports learner abuse of AI, resource limitations, skill gaps, data security concerns and ethical issues in higher education adoption.

The rundown

The study is a systematic literature review published in the Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology in 2025. It was motivated by the observation that AI is transforming higher education while adoption in developing countries has received little attention.

Its synthesis spans both opportunities and risks. Educators and institutions may gain from lighter workloads and personalised learning, while the same literature points to misuse by learners, limited resources, insufficient skills, and data and ethics concerns.

The authors describe the work as a conceptual analysis of AI's impact on higher education institutions in developing nations, intended to help stakeholders harness benefits while mitigating risks.

What this doesn’t fix

The authors note that few explicit studies exist on AI adoption in higher education in developing countries, so the evidence base for the review is thin.

Sources

  1. Peer-reviewedJournal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology2025-09-13

The debate