Higher Education Commission mandates compulsory AI course for all undergraduates and graduates, introduces draft policy on generative AI usage.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has notified that all undergraduate and postgraduate programs will include a compulsory three‑credit‑hour AI course beginning fall 2026. The commission also circulated a draft policy on the use of generative AI in universities. The draft prohibits students from submitting AI‑generated work as their own and obliges them to declare which AI tools they used and why. The draft acknowledges that no teacher can verify these disclosures and that no student may be punished solely on the basis of an AI detection report. The policy’s author argues that the two core ideas are unenforceable, asserting that teachers cannot observe a student’s use of AI in real time. The draft also states that student work will be assessed only on outputs from supervised classroom settings, oral defenses, and other observable moments. The author notes that AI multiplies existing ability but does not create new ability, and suggests that the policy could make some traditionally taught content less necessary. The draft also encourages research and teaching staff to use AI, while limiting undergraduate use to practice with low grading weight. The policy raises concerns about the effectiveness of detection software, citing studies that report high false‑positive rates, particularly for non‑native English speakers. The commission’s new course is described as the largest curricular change in recent years, but its exact content and learning outcomes remain unspecified.