Recent Research Shows That Almost All Singaporean Students Are Asking AI To Do Their Homework, Raising Concerns Among Educators

A new study revealed a shocking revelation that every secondary school student surveyed in Singapore uses artificial intelligence tools to complete homework, underscoring a major shift in how students engage with academic work.

The research, which involved 500 local students from different schools, showed that almost 29% of secondary school students use AI several times a week, while the remainder uses it at least monthly for academic tasks.

The research revealed that students primarily use AI for generating assignment ideas (86%), solving mathematical questions (63%), and proofreading work (47%).

For many, AI tools like ChatGPT are part of their daily academic toolkit.“If I feel I’m stuck, I’d just get ChatGPT to list some ideas, just to get the brain juices flowing,” said Rebekah Low, a Secondary 3 student.

Teachers are often aware of students using AI and, in some cases, even encourage responsible use. “It’s still essentially our own work,” Low noted, adding that her English teacher supports using AI for brainstorming in point form, followed by deeper student-driven elaboration.

Despite widespread usage, only 51% of students said their schools have clear rules on AI use, while 33% weren’t sure if such guidelines even exist.

Teachers across Singapore hold widely varying views on AI use. Education expert, Johnathan Sim noted that while there are some teachers who are very excited, there are also others who doesn't know how to deal with it and just pretend that its doesn't exist.

Sim also highlighted the inconsistency of AI detection tools, noting that the same student submission can receive wildly different AI-generated content scores across platforms.

“That’s how unreliable it is.”

He warned that inconsistent detection could damage teacher-student relationships: "If the student writes well and is constantly flagged by their teachers for using AI, it might undermine their motivation and drive to learn.

While many students use AI to supplement learning, some rely on it as a shortcut.

One student, Dorelle Ong, admitted that she uses AI to help her find the answers to her math assignment, admitting she doesn't want to waste time on hard subjects.

“I find maths quite hard, so I don’t even really bother I don't want to waste time."

The Ministry of Education has released an AI-in-Education Ethics Primer, but Sim says more specific guidance is needed.

"Minimally, we should make clear how much AI should be used.”