Year Ender 2025: How AI became part of everyday life on Indian campuses
The integration of artificial intelligence in Indian education in 2025 was pretty much a silent success. There were no major initiatives, no radical changes in the classrooms. What happened is that AI gradually found its way in various areas such as lecture slides, assignment feedback, career counselling, and student support. Many universities, therefore, understood a very significant thing by the end of the year, it was not a choice anymore whether to use AI or not.What began as small trials and digital experiments has now become part of how Indian higher education functions. This shift is clearly reflected in the FICCI–EY-Parthenon AI Adoption Survey 2025, released in October, which captures how colleges and universities across the country are using AI — and why 2025 stands out as a turning point.
The classroom is no longer the same for everyone
For decades, higher education in India followed a simple idea: one syllabus, one lecture, one pace for all. In 2025, that model finally began to crack.According to the FICCI–EY-Parthenon survey, many institutions are now using AI-based systems to personalise learning. These tools track how students perform, where they struggle, and how quickly they progress. Based on this data, they suggest revision topics, adjust difficulty levels and offer focused feedback.In crowded classrooms where individual attention is difficult, this change matters. Universities see personalised learning tools not as luxury add-ons, but as practical solutions for large, diverse student groups. The idea is straightforward: if students learn differently, teaching systems must adapt too.This shift is also driven by student behaviour. Globally, learners are turning to AI for quick explanations and help. A study conducted by US, based firm Intelligent.com in 2023 reveals that students consider tools such as ChatGPT to be more helpful than conventional tutoring. Campuses in India are not resisting this change but are rather reacting to this fact.
How students use AI, every day
Away from policy meetings and strategy papers, students have already made AI part of daily academic life.The survey shows that Indian students use AI tools for homework help, revision, virtual tutoring, research support, writing improvement, language learning, coding assistance and study planning. Many also rely on AI-based videos and audio tools to understand complex topics.Among all options, generative AI tools, AI tutors and data-based learning systems are the most widely used. Their appeal lies in speed and convenience. Students no longer need to wait for office hours or peer support; answers are instant and personalised.This rapid student adoption has also raised uncomfortable questions about academic honesty and fair use — questions institutions are now trying to address through clearer rules and guidelines.
Teachers are using AI too quietly
Public debate around AI often focuses on whether teachers will be replaced. Campus reality in 2025 tells a different story.Faculty members are using AI to make their work easier, not irrelevant. According to the FICCI–EY-Parthenon report, educators rely on AI for grading assignments, creating teaching material, organising courses and managing routine administrative tasks.Automated feedback systems help handle large class sizes, while learning analytics give teachers insights into which students are falling behind. Instead of reducing the teacher’s role, AI is changing it — allowing educators to focus more on explanation, mentoring and academic judgement.
Exams, feedback and the end of one-shot testing
Assessment has seen one of the clearest changes. Universities are increasingly using AI for essay checking, online exams, plagiarism detection and performance analysis.The survey points out that there is a significant shift to continuous assessment largely where students are given feedback through the semester rather than a single exam being used for their judgment. Artificial intelligence tools facilitate this by keeping a record of the performance over time and identifying the issues at an early stage.Such an evaluation system is very much in line with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which advocates for a competency, based and comprehensive evaluation system in place of the traditional testing method.
From campus to career: AI steps in
Jobs remain the biggest concern for students — and campuses are turning to AI to help.The FICCI–EY-Parthenon survey shows that many institutions now use AI for career guidance. Tools help students explore career paths, prepare resumes, practise interviews and develop soft skills such as communication, time management and networking.Some systems even analyse skill gaps and suggest training well before students reach their final year. In a fast-changing job market, this early support is becoming essential rather than optional.
AI and student wellbeing
The use of AI to enhance student welfare is probably one of the less noisy changes that universities have gone through in 2025.Several universities are trying out devices that provide stress management advice, mood monitoring, and self, help materials. Such procedures ought not to be regarded as the eventual solution to the problem of counsellors absence, but they comprise the initial group of assistance thus, very handy in the situations of the campuses where mental health services are overstretched.The survey notes that awareness around student mental health has grown significantly after the pandemic, pushing institutions to look for scalable support systems.If there is one clear gap in the AI story of 2025, it lies in governance. Students and teachers are using AI faster than institutions can regulate it.The FICCI–EY-Parthenon report highlights the need for strong policies around data privacy, ethical use and academic integrity. Universities are now racing to frame rules that balance innovation with responsibility.
Schools are joining the AI shift
AI’s influence is no longer limited to universities. In 2025, school education also took a decisive step forward — backed by official policy.Earlier in October 2025, the Ministry of Education declared that Artificial Intelligence and Computational Thinking will be taught from the 3rd class onwards starting from the 2026-27 academic year. This is based on the Central Board of Secondary Educations (CBSE) AI modules that are already being taught from Class 6 in more than 18, 000 CBSE, affiliated schools.The aim is to put AI at the same level as core learning skills instead of limiting it to a handful of specialists. To support this shift, teacher training programmes are being introduced to help educators use AI tools confidently in everyday classroom teaching.
What comes next
2025 did not make Indian education “AI-driven” overnight. But it did something more important: it made AI unavoidable.Higher education institutions regard individualized education technology not as lavish optional features but as feasible means to address the needs of vast and varied student populations. The concept is simple: in case students have different ways of learning, the methods of teaching should change accordingly.AI is no longer something Indian classrooms are preparing for. It is already part of how students learn, how teachers teach, and how institutions plan for the future.
