Nigerian Students Turn to aI For Tests Answers, Lecturers Raise Alarm
Expert System (AI) is changing education while making finding out more available however also sparking disputes on its impact.
While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their knowing experience, lecturers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic integrity, particularly with many trainees unable to their tasks or given works.
Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated actions amongst trainees recounting a recent experience he had.
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"I gave an assignment to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the specific very same answers. These students did not even know each other, however they all used the exact same AI tool to create their responses," he stated.
He noted that this pattern is widespread amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is especially concerning in part-time and range knowing programs.
"AI is a severe challenge when it comes to tasks. Many trainees no longer think critically-they just browse the web, create answers, and send," he included.
Surprisingly, some speakers are likewise implicated of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and students turn to AI for convenience rather than intellectual rigor.
This debate raises critical questions about the function of AI in academic stability and student development.
According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million month-to-month active users in January 2023, only one country had released guidelines on generative AI since July 2023.
Since December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million people using the AI chatbot each week and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the globe.
Decline of scholastic rigor
University lecturers are increasingly worried about trainees sending AI-generated assignments without truly understanding the content.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about trainees increasingly depending on ChatGPT, just to fight with responding to standard concerns when tested.
"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and send sleek projects, but when asked basic questions, they go blank. It's frustrating since education is about learning, not just passing courses," he stated.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of first-class graduates can not be completely credited to AI but confessed that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A first-rate trainee is a top-notch student, AI or not, but that does not imply they don't cheat. The benefits of AI might be peripheral, but it is making students reliant and less analytical," he said.
- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, chessdatabase.science from Ebonyi State University, raised a different concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not just students using AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course lays out, marking plans, and even exam concerns with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn utilize AI to generate answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real knowing," he regreted.
Students' viewpoints on usage
Students, on the other hand, state AI has improved their knowing experience by making scholastic products more reasonable and accessible.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has significantly assisted her knowing by breaking down complex terms and providing summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more easily, specifically when dealing with intricate subjects," she discussed.
However, she remembered a circumstances when she utilized AI to submit her project, only for dokuwiki.stream her speaker to immediately recognize that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad result.
- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently finished with a first-rate degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly believes that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his impressive grades to actively engaging by asking questions and focusing on locations that speakers emphasize in class, as they are typically shown in examination questions.
"It's everything about existing, paying attention, and tapping into the wealth of knowledge shared by my coworkers," he said,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, admits to sometimes copying directly from ChatGPT when facing numerous due dates.
"To be honest, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have several deadlines, and I understand I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the speakers don't get to check out through them, however AI has likewise assisted me find out quicker."
Balancing AI's role in education
Experts believe the solution depends on AI literacy; teaching students and lecturers how to utilize AI as a knowing aid rather than a faster way.
- Minister of Education, classifieds.ocala-news.com Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the value of a well balanced approach that keeps human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance discovering results.
"As we browse the quickly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is vital that we prioritise human company in education. We need to guarantee that AI enhances, instead of replaces, educators' essential function in forming young minds," he stated
Concerns over AI in Learning
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change professional, attended to growing concerns concerning making use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective risks to the academic system.
- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, however, timeoftheworld.date stressed the requirement for care in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst teachers and schools toward incorporating AI tools in learning environments. She recognized 2 primary reasons that AI tools are dissuaded in academic settings: security threats and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, which may not align with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade said, discussing that AI doesn't cater to specific mentor methods.
Plagiarism is another issue, as AI pulls from existing information, often without proper attribution
"A great deal of individuals require to comprehend, like I stated, this is data that has been trained on. It is not simply bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing information that some other people are fed into it, which in essence implies that is another person's paperwork," she warned.
- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI development called "hallucination," where AI tools would produce information that was not accurate.
"Hallucination implied that it was bringing out details from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she described.
She recommended "grounding" AI by supplying it with particular details to prevent such mistakes.
Navigating AI in Education
Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the solution, particularly when AI provides a chance to leapfrog traditional instructional techniques.
- She thinks that regularly enhancing key information helps people keep in mind and avoid making errors when faced with difficulties.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the very same thing over and over again, when they are about to make the errors, then they'll keep in mind."
She also empasized the need for clear policies and botdb.win procedures within schools, noting that many schools ought to address the individuals and process elements of this use.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has resorted to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally utilize projects to guarantee trainees offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling large classes makes this method tough.
"If you set intricate questions, students won't be able to utilize AI to get direct responses," he discussed.
He highlighted the need for universities to train lecturers on crafting exam questions that AI can not easily solve while acknowledging that some speakers battle to counter AI misuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he stated.
- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, responsibility, ghetto-art-asso.com and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the guideline of AI in education, encouraging organizations to investigate algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they satisfy ethical standards, safeguard user data, and filter improper content.
- It worries the need to assess the long-term impact of AI on crucial skills like thinking and creativity while creating policies that line up with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO recommends implementing age restrictions for GenAI usage to secure more youthful students and engel-und-waisen.de safeguard vulnerable groups.
- For governments, it advised adopting a collaborated nationwide method to managing GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and lining up policies with existing data protection and privacy laws. It stresses evaluating AI dangers, imposing more stringent guidelines for high-risk applications, and making sure national information ownership.