AI Adoption in South Asian and Vietnamese Universities Sparks Debate on Academic Integrity

A UNESCO report released on 16 June 2026 found that 78 % of universities in South Asia have introduced AI‑driven grading and personalized learning tools within the past six months. The rapid rollout has triggered a debate between education ethicist Dr Amira Khan, who warns that reliance on AI could erode critical‑thinking skills, and Minister Rajiv Patel, who argues that AI is essential for preparing students for a technology‑focused job market. Concerns centre on academic integrity, with fears that automated grading may overlook nuanced understanding and that students might become overly dependent on AI for problem‑solving.

A separate study of 379 undergraduate construction‑economics students at Hanoi University of Civil Engineering in Vietnam examined self‑reported AI literacy and scenario‑based judgement. While students reported moderate AI literacy across four dimensions, their judgement varied: they performed well on source‑verification tasks but struggled with privacy‑sensitive data use and authorship issues in AI‑assisted writing. The research showed that higher AI use frequency did not predict better academic judgement, highlighting a need for explicit, scenario‑based guidance on responsible AI use in higher education.