Prof Ayii warns: Education system must adapt AI or produce jobless graduates

The Chancellor of Ayii University has called for a major overhaul of South Sudan’s education curriculum, warning that the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the global workforce and could leave graduates unemployed if the country’s education system fails to adapt.

Speaking as an invited guest during the first graduation ceremony of Promise Land College in Shirikaat over the weekend Professor Dr. Isaac Ayii Ayii, said AI is changing how people work, learn and solve problems, making it imperative for educational institutions to redesign their programmes.

“The world of AI has now come,” he said. “Artificial Intelligence has put much of human intelligence into machines. Today, machines can perform many tasks without human intervention. If we do not redesign our education system, we will produce people who will never work.”

He pointed to the growing use of AI in fields such as music production and modern warfare, saying technologies including drones are increasingly replacing traditional human roles.

Professor Ayii said educators have a responsibility to keep pace with technological change by developing curricula that prepare learners for emerging industries and future employment opportunities.

“The world is moving very fast, and we, as educationists, are not moving with it,” he said. “Our challenge is to sit down and understand how fast the world is changing.”

While advocating for greater integration of technology into education, Professor Ayii stressed that curriculum reform should also respond to South Sudan’s own development priorities.

He said institutions should train professionals in areas such as healthcare, agriculture, leadership and peacebuilding to address the country’s challenges.

“If we train medical personnel, they will solve our health problems. If we train our people to practice agriculture, we will answer many of our challenges. If we train leaders and teach our people to live together in peace, we will have already helped ourselves,” he said.

Professor Ayii concluded that education should equip graduates with practical, market-relevant skills while enabling them to contribute to national development in an increasingly technology-driven world.