WE have become fascinated by the adjective “smart”. We want smart schools, classrooms, boards, screens, tablets and applications powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Yet the question we rarely ask is whether these technologies are making our teachers and learners smarter.

This question is particularly important in Pakistan, where millions of children still struggle with basic literacy, numeracy, access to electricity, books and adequately trained teachers. Despite these challenges, we appear increasingly tempted to join the global race for classroom gadgets without assessing whether they are pedagogically necessary, affordable or beneficial. A classroom does not become intelligent merely because a screen replaces a blackboard.

UNESCO’s 2023 Global Education Monitoring Report, Technology in Education: A Tool on Whose Terms?, cautioned that robust evidence of the added value of digital technology in education remains limited. Although technology can improve learning in certain circumstances, it........

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