This paper critically assesses the effectiveness of the EU AI Act in regulating artificial intelligencein higher education (AIED), with a focus on how it interacts with existing education regulation. Itexamines the growing use of high-risk AI systems – such as those used in admissions, assessment,academic progression, and exam proctoring – and identifies key regulatory frictions that arisewhen AI regulation and education regulation pursue overlapping but potentially conflicting aims.Central to this analysis is the concept of human oversight: while the AI Act frames oversight as asafeguard for accountability and fundamental rights, education regulation emphasises theprofessional autonomy of teachers and their role in maintaining pedagogical integrity. Yet, theregulatory role of teachers in AI-mediated environments remains unclear. Applying Mousmouti’seffectiveness test, the paper evaluates the AI Act along four dimensions – purpose, coherence,results, and structural integration with the broader legal framework – and argues that legaleffectiveness in this context requires a more precise alignment between AI and educationregulation.