Estonia Embraces Smartphones and AI in Classrooms, Bucking the Ban Trend
While schools across England are banning smartphones over concerns about distraction and mental health, Estonia — emerging as Europe’s new education frontrunner — is taking a different path. In Estonian classrooms, students are not only encouraged to use their phones for learning, but starting this September, they’ll be given their own artificial intelligence (AI) accounts.
With a population of just 1.4 million, the Baltic nation has quietly risen to the top of Europe’s academic rankings. In the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted by the OECD, Estonia surpassed Finland, leading Europe in math, science, and creative thinking, and ranking second only to Ireland in reading. Once part of the Soviet Union, Estonia now outperforms countries with significantly larger populations and budgets.
A key factor in its success? A strong embrace of digital tools. While other countries limit tech in the classroom, Estonia sees it as essential. Teachers integrate smartphones into lessons, viewing them not as distractions, but as valuable educational aids.
Now, Estonia is launching a bold new national strategy called AI Leap, aimed at equipping students and educators with cutting-edge AI tools and skills. In partnership with OpenAI, the initiative will turn Estonia into a testbed for AI in education. By 2027, the plan is to offer free access to top-tier AI learning platforms to 58,000 students and 5,000 teachers, starting with 16- and 17-year-olds this autumn. Teachers will be trained in AI applications, with a focus on digital ethics, self-directed learning, and ensuring equitable access.
The goal, according to officials, is not just to be the most digitally advanced, but to become “one of the smartest AI-using nations.”
Estonia’s Education and Research Minister Kristina Kallas, speaking at the Education World Forum in London, acknowledged the cautious stance many European countries take toward technology in schools. “But Estonian society is far more open to digital tools,” she said. “And our teachers reflect that openness.”
There are no national mobile phone bans in Estonia. In fact, Kallas described smartphones as a key part of the country’s highly successful digital education policy. “Honestly, I’ve not heard of any problems,” she said. “Schools set their own rules, and phones are used when relevant for learning.”
She also pointed to Estonia’s upcoming local elections in October, in which 16-year-olds will be allowed — and expected — to vote online using their phones. “It would send a confusing message to let them vote with a smartphone but not use it for educational purposes,” she argued. “Why ban ChatGPT for homework help but allow mobile voting?”
That said, Estonia is not without guidelines. Kallas noted that for students under 12 or 13, schools are encouraged to regulate phone use. Many have policies preventing phone use during breaks, but allow it in class when teachers incorporate them into assignments.
Estonia’s progressive approach to tech in schools dates back to 1997, with its groundbreaking Tiger Leap (Tiigrihüpe) program, which invested heavily in connecting all schools to the internet. Today, smartphones and AI are seen as the natural next evolution.
Kallas envisions an “AI revolution” that could eliminate traditional essay-based homework and shift education away from rote memorization. Oral exams and the development of higher-level thinking skills may soon replace older methods, she suggested, as AI increasingly handles the rest.
“This is urgent,” Kallas said. “We’re facing a developmental crossroads. Either we evolve as faster, higher-level thinkers — or we risk letting the technology outpace our own minds.”
