Artificial Intelligence and Higher Education Regulation in The Gambia Assessing Legal and Policy Readiness for Responsible AI Integration

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping higher education by influencing teaching, learning, assessment, research and institutional governance (UNESCO, 2023; OECD, 2024). While universities across the world are increasingly integrating AI into academic and administrative processes, regulatory responses have not advanced at the same pace, particularly in many developing countries (European Commission, 2022; UNESCO, 2023). Existing scholarship has focused largely on institutional adoption and pedagogical applications, with comparatively little attention given to the readiness of national higher education regulatory systems to govern AI responsibly (UNESCO, 2023; INQAAHE, 2024). This study addresses that gap by examining the legal, policy and quality assurance framework governing higher education in The Gambia. The study adopts a qualitative doctrinal and policy research design based on documentary analysis of legislation, national policies, accreditation standards and quality assurance instruments (Creswell & Creswell, 2023; Yin, 2018). These documents are analysed alongside international guidance from UNESCO, the OECD, the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) and selected comparative literature on AI governance. To provide a systematic basis for evaluation, the paper develops the Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index for Higher Education Regulation (AIRI-HER), a twelve-dimension framework that assesses regulatory preparedness across governance, strategic policy, curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, academic integrity, research governance, ethics, data governance, staff capability, graduate capability and quality assurance (UNESCO, 2021; OECD, 2024; INQAAHE, 2024). The findings indicate that The Gambia possesses a coherent and well-established higher education regulatory framework, but one that remains largely technology-neutral (Government of The Gambia, 2016, 2021a, 2021b). Existing legislation and accreditation standards support institutional autonomy and quality assurance but provide limited direction on AI governance, AI-assisted assessment, research integrity, institutional accountability, data governance and AI literacy (Government of The Gambia, 2016; Government of The Gambia, 2021a; NAQAA, 2022). Consequently, institutions retain considerable flexibility to adopt AI, yet operate without a consistent national framework to guide responsible implementation. The paper argues that the principal regulatory challenge is not the absence of legal authority but the absence of explicit regulatory preparedness. It proposes targeted reforms that embed AI governance within higher education legislation, national policy and accreditation standards while preserving academic autonomy, educational quality and public trust (UNESCO, 2021; OECD, 2024; INQAAHE, 2024). By introducing AIRI-HER, the study contributes a practical analytical framework that may assist policymakers, regulators and quality assurance agencies in evaluating AI readiness within higher education systems in The Gambia and comparable jurisdictions.