Artificial intelligence will become a basic and compulsory course in primary and secondary schools in Zhejiang province, authorities at the Digital Education Conference 2023 announced on Thursday.

Information technology has now become a discipline in the gaokao, or national college entrance examination, in the province, and the introduction of AI courses in primary and secondary schools will help students lay a good foundation for their future studies, they said.

Last year, Zhejiang proposed promoting the deep integration of AI during students' compulsory education years and building an AI education system with Zhejiang characteristics in primary and secondary schools.

Wenzhou city has promoted the popularization of AI courses in primary and secondary schools throughout the city. Under its development plan, it will cultivate 700 AI education experimental schools and 60 AI education demonstration schools by the end of this year.

By 2025, Wenzhou will have a total of 1,000 AI education experimental schools and 100 AI education demonstration schools, the authorities said, and its primary and secondary schools will fully implement AI courses and AI laboratories.