Mapping artificial intelligence adoption, perceptions, and governance in Indian higher education: A scoping review
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into higher education institutions worldwide has prompted considerable scholarly and policy attention, yet research examining AI through the combined lens of adoption, stakeholder perceptions, and regulatory governance within a single national context remains sparse. This scoping review maps peer-reviewed and grey-literature evidence concerning AI in Indian higher education across these three dimensions. A systematic search of eight bibliographic databases and twelve regulatory and government sources, conducted in June 2026, identified 1,066 records. Following de-duplication and two-stage screening - with a raw inter-rater agreement of 82.0% at title/abstract stage − 236 sources met eligibility criteria, comprising 180 empirical studies, 38 conceptual papers, nine prior reviews, and nine policy or regulatory documents. Thematic analysis generated four themes mapped to the review’s research questions. AI tools are being adopted across teaching and learning, assessment, research support, and institutional administration, with the literature concentrated overwhelmingly post-November 2022. Student and faculty perceptions are broadly positive but tempered by persistent concerns about accuracy, academic integrity, prompt literacy, and digital equity. National policy has followed a skilling-first trajectory, accelerated by the AICTE–OpenAI partnership (2025), but without classroom-level usage guidance. A stark regulatory asymmetry characterises health-professional education: ICMR has issued substantive AI ethics guidelines and NBEMS a training initiative, while the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine has issued nothing, leaving AYUSH education entirely ungoverned. These findings point to an urgent need for AI-specific governance instruments addressing classroom use, academic integrity, and sector-level coordination across India’s fragmented regulatory architecture.
Source: Research Square
Institution: Banaras Hindu University
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204216337