Study Finds Philippine Schools Use AI but Lack Strategy and Training

Artificial intelligence is already inside Philippine higher education and technical-vocational schools, but the systems around it have not caught up, according to a study presented at CanvasCon Philippines 2026 in Pasay City on Wednesday. Education technology company Instructure and local research firm The Fourth Wall surveyed 207 higher education and TVET professionals in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao, BusinessWorld reported.

Adoption is broad. Half of the educators said their institutions run AI literacy or digital skills programmes for students, and about 40% reported staff-facing AI tools, AI built into course content, or AI-powered tutoring. Only 18% said their schools were still exploring AI without a current approach.

Confidence is lower. Educators rated their institution’s strategy for linking AI to lifelong-learning pathways at 3.08 out of 5, and their own training to use AI in teaching at 2.87. Support for remote, part-time and working learners scored 2.66, among the lowest results, and tracking whether AI tools reach student groups equitably scored 2.74. “We cannot close a gap that we cannot measure,” said John Brylle Bae, partner and research director at The Fourth Wall.

What it means in practice

Study Finds Philippine Schools Use AI but Lack Strategy and Training — contextual photo

Bae described today’s pattern as diskarte, or resourcefulness: teachers figure out AI by trying tools on their own. That can be a strength, he said, but it can also mask structural gaps. Limited access to devices and paid tools was cited by 48% of respondents, and 38% pointed to a lack of training or guidance. The study calls for wider device and tool access, clear rules for responsible use, faculty training, curriculum integration and equity metrics. “Encouragement isn’t the same as structure, clarity, and guidance,” said Darren Read, Instructure’s managing director for Asia-Pacific.

The findings echo national debates about skills. Balisacan has said the country needs AI reskilling alongside infrastructure upgrades, and in basic education DepEd is training teachers for a Grades 5 to 8 AI literacy curriculum.

The researchers cautioned that the survey reflects educators’ views rather than learners’ and is not a nationally representative sample. What to watch: whether higher education and TESDA regulators turn the recommendations into guidance, and whether schools begin reporting who actually benefits from the AI tools they deploy.