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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →GitHub Education provides free education benefits, but it is not a single school license that automatically makes every GitHub product or partner tool free for everyone. Students, teachers, and qualifying institutions use different application paths, and individual offers have their own terms. GitHub Classroom is no longer available for new classroom workflows: GitHub retired it on August 28, 2026.
Is GitHub Education free for schools?
GitHub Education is a portal to education resources and software benefits, not a blanket guarantee that every listed tool is free indefinitely for every school, teacher, or student. Its offers include GitHub products and partner services, each subject to eligibility and changing terms. The GitHub Education portal is the starting point for current program information.
There are distinct routes for teachers, students, and institutions. A teacher’s approval does not automatically qualify every student, and student access to the Student Developer Pack does not establish that a school qualifies for an institutional license.
How can teachers get GitHub Education?
Teachers apply through GitHub’s teacher benefits page. GitHub lists four requirements for an application:
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- You are an educator, faculty member, or researcher.
- You have a verifiable school-issued email address.
- You can provide documents proving your school affiliation.
- You have a personal GitHub account.
Approval is required before using teacher benefits. GitHub describes free GitHub Team for verified teachers, with unlimited users and private repositories, and a free Copilot Pro subscription for verified teachers. Check the live teacher page for current eligibility, features, and terms before relying on a specific benefit.
Who qualifies for the GitHub Student Developer Pack?
According to GitHub’s student eligibility guidance, applicants must be at least 13, enrolled in a degree- or diploma-granting program, have a personal GitHub account, and verify current student status. GitHub gives high school, college, university, and homeschool as examples of qualifying programs.
Students may submit a current school ID, class schedule, transcript, or an affiliation or enrollment letter. Depending on the institution and its recent application history, GitHub may also require an academic email address. If the school does not issue one, GitHub says applicants can provide official documentation explaining that policy.
Approval gives access to the Student Developer Pack, a changing catalog of partner offers that can include development tools, cloud resources, and learning services. Current examples include Codespaces, JetBrains, and Azure benefits, but providers set their own age limits, eligibility conditions, allowances, expiry dates, and renewal terms. Check each live offer card rather than assuming every student receives every offer or a fixed amount of usage.
Can a school get an institutional GitHub license?
Some teaching-focused institutions may qualify separately through the GitHub Campus Program. GitHub’s overview describes no-cost access to GitHub Enterprise Cloud and GitHub Enterprise Server for eligible institutions, along with 50,000 GitHub Actions minutes and 50 GB of GitHub Packages storage. The described license is free for one year and renews annually while the institution continues to meet program terms. These provisions are not universal: schools should review the current eligibility rules and apply through the program.
Is GitHub Classroom still available?
No. GitHub Community Admin announced on August 27, 2026, that GitHub Classroom would retire effective August 28, 2026. The announcement says that existing accounts, repositories, and organizations created through Classroom are not affected by the retirement. It also reports that more than 3.73 million students and educators had used the service across more than 305,000 unique classroom instances; those are historical figures reported by GitHub, not independently audited learning outcomes.
GitHub’s retirement announcement names Codio and Classroom 50 as transition options. Those descriptions are a starting point for evaluation, not a head-to-head assessment or assurance that either platform fits every course.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What can teachers use after GitHub Classroom?
Codio
GitHub describes Codio as a hands-on learning platform with interactive courseware, browser-based coding environments, and auto-grading. The announcement says instructors can access it at no cost to create curriculum, use a migration tool, or explore the platform. Confirm current pricing conditions, migration details, and student or institutional costs directly with Codio before moving a course.
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Classroom 50
GitHub describes Classroom 50 as a free, open-source alternative developed by the Fifty Foundation, with command-line and web interfaces. The features listed in GitHub’s announcement include individual and group assignments, auto-grading, inline feedback, roster management, submission tracking, and score collection. Verify current functionality and support requirements with the project before adoption.
How to evaluate a replacement
Neither alternative is established as a universal successor. Compare how each fits your course and institution, including:
Quick Recap
- Assignment distribution, grading, feedback, roster management, and score collection.
- Integration with your learning management system.
- Whether course materials are bundled and whether browser-based coding environments are available.
- Migration effort for existing assignments, repositories, and student work.
- Costs for instructors, students, and the institution, plus ongoing support needs.
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