There's a real difference between the two, and it shows up on exam day. Some use AI just to get answers; however, it leaves the student with no understanding, leading to no long-term impact. Studying with AI is a different concept altogether. It involves diving deeper into the topic through questions, notes, and practice quizzes. And yet, schools still haven't figured out how to reward the studying without rewarding the shortcut.
The exam-anxiety number that hasn't movedIndian students have also felt burdened by exam pressure. A nationwide NCERT survey found that around 80% of students in Classes 9-12 suffer from exam- and results-related anxiety
(Source: Down to Earth 2022). To these students, AI was a way to get work done faster, not better.
Students reach for AI under pressure. Leah Belsky, OpenAI's Vice President of Education, has pointed out that roughly half of ChatGPT's users in India are under 24, most of them turning to it for homework, exam prep and concept explanations (Source: Economic Times 2025). Then why is it so that even though every student is using it, it is not able to help them?
In a randomised study comparing students who used ChatGPT to complete assignments against students who didn't, the AI-assisted group finished faster and scored higher immediately afterwards. But on a test taken weeks later, they scored lower than the group that had studied without AI (Source: ScienceDirect 2025). Students race to finish the module; however, in this race, they tend to forget to gain clarity on the concepts.
Parents are sensing this. A recent survey tracking family digital habits during board-exam season found that 89% of Indian parents are worried about excessive screen time during exam season, citing its effect on concentration, sleep and overall well-being, and most believed unmanaged phone and app use was adding to exam stress rather than relieving it (Source: The Print 2026). The concern isn't really about screens. It's about a powerful tool being used without any framework for using it well.
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The six things schools don't currently teachMost schools are built to teach subjects. Almost none of them teach
how to study. Six specific gaps show up consistently in how Indian students prepare for exams, AI or no AI:
* Understanding, not just reading. A student reads a chapter twice but still doesn't fully comprehend the concepts.
* Independent learning. Many students wait for an adult to solve their doubts rather than trying to work through them on their own.
* Smart revision. Notes, worksheets, PDFs and textbooks pile up, causing stress and anxiety before exams.
* Practice and exam readiness. Even after studying the concept multiple times, doubts show up under exam pressure.
* Writing and presentation. A student knows the answer, but is unable to express it in a coherent form in the exam paper to gain maximum marks.
* Responsible AI use. Most students use AI for answers, but rarely do they use AI to study.These aren't new problems, and AI has the potential to close the gap, only if used properly.
AI for answers vs. AI for learningThe distinction is simple to state and easy to miss in practice:
AI for Answers
AI for Learning
What it looks like
Copy a question in, paste the answer out
Ask a question, understand the explanation, build notes and quizzes from it
What it produces
A completed assignment
A concept the student can now explain unprompted
What happens by exam day
The gap resurfaces under time pressure, with no AI to lean on
The understanding is already there
What it teaches in the long term
Dependence on the tool
A study method that outlasts any one exam
Nothing about this requires banning AI or treating it as a shortcut to be policed. It requires teaching the second column deliberately, since almost nobody does it by default.
What the program actually isMake AI Your 24×7 Study Partner, presented by The Economic Times, is built around that second column. It is an academic program rather than a coding course or a generic "AI camp". It doesn't require a technical background, and the tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, NotebookLM, and Google Classroom) are used as study aids.
The program is led by Ansh Mehra, an AI educator, and is open to students in Classes 5 to 12. It's aimed at students who are studying hard but struggling to understand concepts, getting stuck on doubts, and feeling unprepared on exam days despite working hard.
Students learn how to prompt to get correct answers, convert long lectures into small, digestible forms, generate mock papers and learn how to track their progress. This program also gives access to an exam hotline that stays open through August and September to assist students during their exams.
To view full details, visit AI for Academic Excellence.
What's nextAs India's AI and Computational Thinking curriculum rolls into schools, the students who benefit most won't be the ones who used AI first; they'll be the ones who were taught to use it well. That's a skill with a longer shelf life than any exam.
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