PREACT-AI

CAYSTI

PREACT-AI

Advancing multilingual literacy in Africa through scalable, AI-powered assessment and remediation adapted to low-resource languages.

Cameroun

CMR

Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit

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The learning of national languages—a pillar of cultural preservation and identity—has become a top priority for many African governments. Research shows that students in primary school perform better when taught in their native language, yet over 80% of African children receive instruction in a second language, such as French or English, rather than their mother tongue. As a result, a 77% of children (World Bank) and 9 students over 10 (Unesco) at the end of primary school in sub-Saharan Africa cannot read and understand a simple text. The absence of standardized learning guidelines and early assessment frameworks, combined with limited linguistic resources for African languages, presents a major obstacle to equitable education. In Cameroon, where over 200 national languages are spoken, classrooms often have one teacher supporting 40-60 students who may speak more than seven different languages. Literacy instruction becomes fragmented. Students struggle with diverse reading deficiencies, ranging from grapheme recognition to comprehension, making early detection and effective remediation nearly impossible. Natural Language Processing (NLP) / AI tools in African languages is particularly difficult due to linguistic distance from Indo-European languages, dialect diversity, and code-switching, which further hinder scalable learning and learning assessments.

PREACT-AI (Proactive Remediation and Assessment of Core Abilities through Technology - AI) is a digital framework that helps teachers detect and address reading and math difficulties early in primary school children, particularly in African languages. It will use artificial intelligence to analyze children’s reading aloud and instantly identify their specific challenges—whether it’s recognizing letters, decoding syllables, or understanding sentences. Once a child’s learning gaps are identified, we apply a “teaching at the right level” approach by grouping students with similar deficiencies. This enables teachers to manage large classrooms more effectively by focusing on the specific needs of each group. To support progress, PREACT-AI delivers personalized and gamified learning activities via tablet for each group. These interactive exercises are tailored to the child’s skill level, making learning both engaging and effective as they build foundational competencies step by step. The framework functions primarily offline, supports local African languages, and provides real-time progress dashboards for teachers and parents to track student development.

PREACT-AI primarily serves early-grade students in underserved communities, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, who struggle to acquire foundational reading and math skills. These learners are often in overcrowded classrooms, taught in a second language, and face wide gaps in literacy. Children with learning differences go undetected, and teachers lack tools for effective, personalized instruction. PREACT-AI empowers teachers by enabling early detection of learning gaps, grouping students by similar deficiencies, and delivering tailored, gamified learning activities in local languages—improving engagement and outcomes. Parents and school leaders can track progress through simple dashboards, allowing timely interventions. Governments are also key beneficiaries. Many African countries, like Cameroon, are now prioritizing national languages in schools. PREACT-AI aligns with these efforts by providing tools that support mother tongue instruction and assessment. Moreover, the platform generates structured, anonymized learning data that can support policy decisions, curriculum design, and long-term education planning. Finally, the solution creates a unique language resource database that will be invaluable to researchers, linguists, and African app developers working on local language technologies, helping to build more inclusive AI tools for the continent. PREACT-AI bridges equity gaps and transforms how foundational skills are taught in Africa.