Sikkim government has instituted an artificial intelligence-driven learning program in 71 government schools in Gangtok district with emphasis on classes 3 to 5. AI-FunZone is intended to enhance learning skills and basic literacy and numeracy and to provide individualised practice at each level of learning.
The pilot is being implemented by the Education Department in partnership with EkStep Foundation under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2026. The programme currently covers schools in the Khamdong, Nandok and Martam blocks of Gangtok district.
According to the Sikkim government, almost 2,100 students in Grades 3, 4 and 5 will benefit from the initiative. The programme provides learning support in English, Nepali and Mathematics.
The initiative is based on the idea of giving children more personalised opportunities to practise basic skills. Rather than having the same exercise for each student, AI systems will be able to analyse each student’s responses and adjust the next activities to match the student’s learning level.
How AI-FunZone Will Help Students
AI-FunZone will be integrated into the regular school timetable through a dedicated 60-minute session. Students will use computers or shared digital devices for daily practice in language and Mathematics.
For reading activities, the system can listen to students as they read and identify specific difficulties. It can detect where a child may struggle with particular sounds or reading skills and then provide activities suited to that learning level.
In Mathematics, this system can detect specific mistakes students make and adjust subsequent exercises to suit them. Children might have more practice in areas where they struggle so that they are not on the same page as the rest of the class.
The programme also utilizes computers, graphics, audio and interactive activities to encourage independent practice and remedial learning. The approach does not involve examinations, rankings or comparisons between students, the Education Department said.
A real-time dashboard will be available to teachers as well. It will help educators see how students are progressing and identify learning gaps that may need to be worked on during classroom teaching.
The government has stressed that AI-FunZone is not to replace teachers. The technology is being presented as a support tool; teachers will still be at the centre of the curriculum and addressing learning difficulties.
About 300 Resource Persons Trained
The Sikkim Education Department said around 300 resource persons from the three participating blocks have already been trained for the programme.
The programme is particularly targeting foundational learning, which is where children can easily move from one grade to another without sufficient reading, speaking and arithmetic from a very basic level. The programme aims to provide teachers with frequent personalised training and support when these gaps are uncovered earlier and more effectively.
The AI-based assessments are also expected to provide teachers with more information about student performance without making the technology central to classroom instruction. The initial response from teachers and students has been encouraging, the government said, and school heads have been able to make the programme easy to implement.
Digital infrastructure remains an important requirement for the programme. Schools need computers or tablets, headsets and high-speed internet connectivity to conduct the AI-FunZone sessions.
Some standalone primary and junior high schools have shortages of digital infrastructure, the Education Department has admitted. This could determine the programme's continued implementation across participating schools.
AI To Supplement Classroom Teaching
The Sikkim government's initiative reflects the increasing use of artificial intelligence as a supplementary tool in school education. In the AI-FunZone model, technology is being used mainly for repeated practice, identifying learning gaps and providing teachers with additional information on student progress.
The programme is currently a pilot across 71 government schools in three blocks of Gangtok district. Its implementation will provide the Education Department with the opportunity to review how adaptive learning technology works in government school classrooms and how effectively it can support foundational literacy and numeracy.
For students in Classes 3 to 5, the focus is still on reading, language and Mathematics. The technology is aimed at giving students more individualised practice while keeping teachers at the centre of the learning process, the government has said.
If the model works well, the pilot experience could also provide insights into how similar technology-based learning approaches might be applied to other government schools.
