EU AI Act for
Education & EdTech
AI in admissions, grading, and student assessment is high-risk under Annex III. Educational institutions and EdTech providers must prepare for deployer obligations.
Emotion Recognition Prohibited
Article 5 prohibits AI systems that infer emotions in educational settings. This ban applied from 2 February 2025. Engagement monitoring through emotional analysis is generally not permitted.
Education AI Use Cases
AI in Admissions Decisions
AI used to determine access to educational institutions falls under Annex III high-risk.
Key Obligations:
- Article 26 deployer obligations
- Human oversight for final decisions
- Transparency to applicants
- Non-discrimination monitoring
Student Assessment & Grading
AI systems that assess or score students for educational purposes.
Key Obligations:
- Human review capability
- Explainability of scoring
- Appeals process
- Logging of decisions
Exam Proctoring
AI-powered proctoring systems that monitor students during exams.
Key Obligations:
- Transparency disclosure
- Biometric data considerations
- Student notification
- Human review of flags
Learning Management & Tutoring
AI tutors and adaptive learning systems that don't make consequential decisions.
Key Obligations:
- Transparency if AI interaction
- Mark AI-generated content
- Student data protection
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AI used in student grading high-risk?
Yes. AI systems used for assessing students and determining educational outcomes are explicitly high-risk under Annex III. This includes automated essay scoring, exam grading, and performance evaluation systems.
What about AI tutoring systems?
AI tutors that provide learning support without making consequential decisions are typically limited risk. However, transparency obligations apply if students interact with AI, and synthetic content must be marked.
Do universities need to comply with the EU AI Act?
Yes. Educational institutions deploying AI systems fall under deployer obligations. Public universities may also need to complete FRIAs for high-risk AI and register in the EU database.
What about emotion recognition in education?
Emotion recognition in educational settings is prohibited under Article 5 with very limited exceptions. Monitoring student emotions during learning is generally banned.
Prepare Your Institution for Compliance
Klarvo helps educational institutions and EdTech companies manage AI Act obligations.