By David Boddy, Senior Partner, Anglo Schools International Services Ltd. (www.angloschools.org).
The AI revolution is still waiting to break through in the education space. Most of the discussion so far has been around its impact on teaching and learning. But AI is also on the cusp of providing a revolution in the way schools are financed and managed.
Chap GPT and its developers are in the final stages of researching the next AI development which will be known as ‘Artificial General Intelligence’. So far, AI’s most well-known product, Chat GPT, relies on trawling all known data points on the internet. But the next phase of development will herald AI securing an independent reasoning capacity. We will be able to ask it questions and get it to do things which have previously not been possible, or at least in the way that they have been responded to by schools so far.
The implications are significant for school bursars and managers. These trojans in the trenches are already under enormous funding pressure, which is almost certain to increase in the years ahead. AGI will be able to be used to identify areas for cost efficiencies and, for the courageous, deliver considerable savings in school running costs.
Schools developing new strategies to cope with the changed environment should be examining 5 areas to provide savings and efficiencies. Several are likely to be “uncomfortable” for those either seeking to maintain the status quo or who are resistant to change. This is all happening at lightning speed and without getting on board with it, schools will be left behind and, in many cases, will face serious financial stretch.
Supported by AGI – which could start arriving within 18 months – school strategists should be looking at and thinking about the following 5 areas. I have been advising our School Strategy clients to look at 7-year strategy plans – not 3 – because most, if not all, of the points below will be operable within that period.
- Delivering more teacher-contact hours with fewer teachers. AGI will be able to be used to provide individualised lesson plans in detail. It will reduce teacher assessment time and data collection. It will remove gaps in timetables where they currently exist. It will be able to provide dynamic timetabling and produce cover lessons identifying every student in the room. ‘Spare’ cover teachers will be a thing of the past. Teachers with excessive time-off timetable for managerial duties will be a thing of the past. Schools could look to up to 20% cost reduction in teacher and teacher-support staff – possibly more. And of course, AGI will be able to help overcome teacher shortages in key subjects. In fact, not as many teachers will be required to fulfil a school’s teaching commitments.
- Greater use of Robotic Teacher Assistants – not expensive, highly qualified and experienced teachers in every lesson. A couple of years ago we laughed at the idea that robots could be used to teach children. However, AGI-powered robots, each with individualised learning plans, are likely to enter service just at the time when schools can’t find sufficient maths and science teachers. For example, the idea that the Head of Maths could teach every student in the cohort has been – until now – derided as ridiculous. Yet the Robot assistants, who can answer any question probably quicker and better than their humanoid compatriots, will be able to sweep around the room, never having to pause for a break and never missing a learning opportunity. And of course, they don’t have to take holidays.
- Professional & Support Staff reductions. School bursars will be able to deliver significant reductions in the cost of professional and support staff. Robotic lawn-mowers and grounds-maintenance robots, self-drive minibuses, AI-powered accounting and debt collection systems will all find their way into those schools who do not put their heads in the sands around AGI. Next generation AI will be able to manage catering procurement, ensuring best prices and just-in-time deliveries. Teaching resources will be similarly procured. At present the level of professional and support staff cost varies considerably depending on the size of the school and its property and machinery assets. A conservative estimate, however, is that schools should be able to reduce such costs by somewhere between 15% and 20%, depending on the timing of the AGI introduction and the pace of robotic development. All of the examples mentioned above are already in development-phase testing.
- Energy cost-savings. The hike in energy costs as a result of the Ukrainian conflict with Russia caused a massive spike in energy running costs and hours of frustration on how to manage them. AGI will have a massive impact on energy costs, both in terms of machine and building running costs, but also in terms of energy supply costs. Computers and servers will be able to be programmed to achieve maximum efficiency at all times; lighting and heating systems will become far more intelligent and able to respond more directly to usage of buildings, plant and machinery. But perhaps the biggest change will be made possible through the development of ‘nuclear fusion’ – the most likely replacement to our fossil-fuelled world and economies. Of course there are major safety issues around “fusion” ( not to be mixed with “fission”); but there is a very good reason why some of the world’s largest tech entrepreneurs are investing billions in this technology. It is a major game-changer for every industry. Schools may not need to generate their own ‘green energy’; instead, they should be on the look out for early stage nuclear-energy tie-ups and strike cost-efficient contracts with these new suppliers.
- Sweating the Assets & Generating Alternative Income Streams. Buildings, offices, car parks, playgrounds – usually worth millions of pounds – largely sit idle for around four months of the year – about 30% of the available productive time. AGI and related technologies provide an opportunity to generate a series of entirely new income streams. To make the most of the assets, however, schools will need to be able to change their idea as to what they are in existence to do. Yes, they will still need to educate children – their core purpose. But maybe they will need to recognise that they have a much better opportunity to flourish if they adopt a wider brief – to educate and support the whole community. AGI will be able to provide parenting classes, help host community support groups, sports groups, establish business education, coach young entrepreneurs, teach multiple foreign languages and undertake countless similar opportunities. But to do so, school strategists will need to expand their vision of what they exist to do.
These ideas may seem far-fetched and, for many, a pipe-dream well into the future. But AGI is around the corner and if we continue to keep our thinking limited to the 19th century vision of what education institutions are about, our sector will be left behind. AGI is going to happen, and certainly within the next three or four years. It may take a year or two more before APPS are developed to make the AGI practical in the situations outlined above. Over 100 million people are already using Chat GPT – the fastest adoption of a new technology ever.
The way AGI is going to happen is up for debate. And of course, those of us passionate about holistic education will need to discuss what the impact of all of this has on the provision of pastoral care.
What is certain is that without courageous thinking the reasoning power of AGI will overtake us. We have to start having these difficult conversations today.
David Boddy
Senior Partner, Anglo Schools International Services Ltd
Delivering Strategy & Financial Solutions for Schools