As artificial intelligence steadily integrates into classrooms, assessment systems and institutional governance, a fundamental question is emerging across the education ecosystem: who is responsible for safeguarding trust?
This critical question took centre stage during Mega Panel: “Trust in the Age of Tech: Who Safeguards Quality, Ethics and Accountability?” at the TechEdu India Summit 2026, organised by ETEducation. The session, moderated by Yasmin Taj, Editor – ETEducation & ETHRWorld, brought together academic leaders, university administrators, industry representatives and edtech innovators to explore how institutions can maintain academic credibility while embracing technological transformation.
The consensus across the panel was clear: trust in the AI era cannot be owned by a single stakeholder. It must be co-created by regulators, universities, technology providers and industry partners.
Building transparent systems in expanding university ecosystems
For universities managing large and complex academic ecosystems, the shift toward technology-enabled governance has become inevitable.
Prof Ajay Kapoor, Vice Chancellor of Somaiya Vidyavihar University, highlighted the operational challenges institutions face when managing thousands of students and multiple affiliated institutions.
In such environments, manual monitoring systems are increasingly impractical. Universities, he explained, must move towards integrated digital frameworks that ensure transparency in digital assessments, streamline administrative processes and maintain regulatory compliance.
However, he cautioned that technology adoption alone cannot guarantee trust. Institutional transformation requires time, training and cultural alignment.
“Digital systems must be implemented thoughtfully,” he emphasised, noting that universities must prepare faculty and administrative teams to adapt to evolving digital processes.
Innovation must coexist with governance
The challenge of balancing technological experimentation with academic integrity was another major theme of the discussion.
Dr Parag Kalkar, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University, stressed that universities must adopt AI-enabled tools responsibly without compromising academic values.
For institutions, the real test lies in ensuring that AI enhances teaching, research and evaluation rather than becoming a shortcut that undermines academic rigour.
Universities, he suggested, must design governance frameworks that encourage innovation while maintaining clear standards for quality and accountability.
Technology adoption needs clarity of purpose
While many institutions are rapidly adopting educational technologies, not all deployments are guided by clear strategic intent.
Utsav Tiwari, Chief Operating Officer at Rahul Education, pointed out that institutions often introduce technology simply to keep pace with industry trends.
“Why are you using technology in the classroom?” he asked during the discussion.
Is the objective to reduce administrative workload, improve learning outcomes or enhance student engagement? Without clarity, institutions risk building fragmented ecosystems filled with disconnected tools.
According to Tiwari, purpose must precede scale. Institutions that adopt technology without a clearly defined goal may end up with complex systems that fail to deliver meaningful educational value.
A relay race of responsibility
From the edtech industry’s perspective, trust in technology-enabled education is the result of coordinated action among multiple stakeholders.
Charneeta Kaur, President – Product & Growth Technology at Extramarks Education, described responsibility as a “relay race.”
In this model, technology providers design ethical systems, regulators establish policy frameworks, universities implement solutions responsibly, and industry validates the outcomes through employability and skills standards.
If any link in this chain fails, the credibility of the entire ecosystem is compromised.
Kaur also emphasised the importance of human-in-the-loop AI systems, particularly in areas such as assessment and evaluation. While technology can assist in analysing performance or identifying patterns, final academic decisions must remain with educators.
Innovation ecosystems and responsible AI
Expanding the conversation beyond classrooms and campuses, Baljeet Gujral, Chairman of the Incubation Centre at Indira Group of Institutions, reflected on the role of AI within innovation ecosystems.
Artificial intelligence, he noted, can significantly accelerate startup development, research and project execution. However, it cannot replace the core function of educational institutions—certifying knowledge and competence.
To ensure responsible use, institutions must encourage experimentation while implementing structured compliance mechanisms that govern how AI tools are deployed.
Designing trust for a digital education future
As the discussion concluded, panelists agreed that protecting trust in technology-enabled education is not about assigning responsibility to a single entity. Instead, it requires designing an ecosystem architecture of accountability.
Regulators must create enabling yet robust guardrails. Universities must build transparent and integrated systems. Industry must help define real-world competency standards. And technology providers must embed ethical design principles within their platforms.
In an era where AI can generate information instantly and automate many academic processes, the defining characteristic of credible institutions will not be technological speed—but institutional accountability.
As education systems continue to digitise, trust will remain the most valuable currency in the ecosystem. Safeguarding it, the panel concluded, is a collective mandate shared across the entire education landscape.
