SINGAPORE – Primary 4 pupils possess the necessary “executive functioning skills” to begin using educational AI tools under supervision, Education Minister Desmond Lee said in Parliament on May 6.
Explaining the rationale behind the age-specific roll-out, Mr Lee noted that by that age, according to research, pupils would have developed the planning abilities and self-evaluation skills required to navigate artificial intelligence responsibly.
“Schools will also teach students when they should not use AI, so that they do not take shortcuts to get answers without actual learning,” he said, adding that pupils will also be taught how the technology works, how to be discerning about AI output, and the importance of being responsible for the content they create.
Mr Lee was speaking in Parliament in response to questions from several MPs, including Mr David Hoe (Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC) and Mr Kenneth Tiong (Aljunied GRC), who asked for the rationale for introducing AI in Primary 4 and the safeguards in place.
Other questions focused on issues of data privacy, teacher and parental guidance, and monitoring long-term developmental impacts.
Earlier in 2026, Mr Lee said AI would be introduced gradually from Primary 4, with “low exposure” and supervision, prioritising learning of the fundamentals.
However, the roll-out has been met with caution from some parents. While many are open to tools hosted on the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Singapore Student Learning Space (SLS), which features built-in guard rails, there are lingering fears regarding open-source models, specifically over screen time, potential over-reliance and the erosion of critical thinking skills.
“From Primary 4, our students would have developed foundational literacy, numeracy and basic knowledge of AI in their daily lives,” Mr Lee noted, whereas from Primary 1 to 3, physical hands-on learning is prioritised as pupils build foundational knowledge and develop cognitive and social skills.
In the lower primary years, pupils learn about the basics of AI so they are aware of its presence, but schools will not assign any work that requires them to use AI directly, he said.
Mr Lee said the ministry’s approach to introducing AI is informed by research on how children learn and develop, and what is helpful at each stage of growth.
