The European Commission will test an AI literacy certificate among pupils from the 2027/28 school year. It is part of an education and skills package presented on 5 November 2026. The certificate is a pilot, and two recommendations to member states in the same package have not yet been adopted.

The move comes after a fall in basic skills. Commission executive vice-president Roxana Mînzatu said one in three 15-year-olds has trouble with reading and maths, "and the trend is getting worse". The latest OECD PISA survey shows poor results for one in three European students of that age.

Two recommendations wait for the Council

The package includes documents the Commission can prepare on its own: guidance on what pupils should learn at each age, guidance on assessment, and the certificate pilot itself. The other two texts are proposals for EU Council recommendations. One aims to reverse the fall in basic skills, the other to make teaching a more attractive job.

A Council recommendation is not law. It sets a general direction, and countries decide for themselves whether and how to follow it. The EU has no power to set education policy for its member states. The Council must review and adopt the two texts, but there is no information on whether it has done so. The certificate has no recommendation of its own.

The age of the pupils is unclear. One description says the certificate is for 15-year-olds, while the Commission's description speaks of learners in general, with no age limit. The guidance on learning outcomes and assessment is due by mid-2027.

Mînzatu said the certificate aims to help pupils understand how AI works, check the answers it gives them, spot manipulation and know when to stop using it.

Framework has 19 competences

The certificate will be based on the EU and OECD framework for AI literacy in primary and secondary education, which the two bodies presented on 18 June 2026. It has four areas and 19 competences, which combine knowledge, skills and attitudes.

The areas are engaging with AI, creating with its help, managing AI and shaping it. In the first, a pupil spots where AI is used, checks its answers and looks for bias. In the second, the pupil uses AI for ideas or feedback, but keeps control of the work and thinks about copyright. In the third, the pupil decides whether AI suits the task and who does what, the person or the machine. In the fourth, the pupil judges AI systems and suggests how to make them fairer.

The framework is not binding and has no link to how the EU AI Act is applied. It will next be used in the OECD's PISA 2029 test of media and AI literacy. Its levels are basic, intermediate and advanced, and they are not tied to any age.

Recommendation on teachers

The proposed recommendation calls on member states to look after teachers' "autonomy" when they use AI. The same text names working conditions, careers and training for teachers as a way to tackle staff shortages. The documents contain no list of approved or recommended programmes.

The OECD's 2024 TALIS survey, which the framework cites, found that about one in three teachers has used AI, and three in four lack the knowledge and skills they need. The framework warns that new duties without time and training will add to workloads, and that AI literacy cannot be left to computer science teachers alone.

More than 40% of teachers in the EU are over 50, and 40% of pupils attend schools with a teacher shortage, Mînzatu said. She added that fewer than one in five teachers feel their voice is heard when decisions are made.

On the use of AI in lessons, Mînzatu gave examples such as personal learning assistants and support for teachers with more varied classes, for example mixed-age ones. On social media, she said educational AI is different from the "addictive algorithms of the platforms". The package also contains a proposal for a European pledge on healthy use of screens.

European school alliances start in 2027 with support from Erasmus+, and each must have a measurable plan to improve at least one basic skill. The EDU-EDIC consortium for digital infrastructure in education was set up on 3 November.