Nigerian Students Turn to aI For Tests Answers, Lecturers Raise Alarm
Expert System (AI) is changing education while making finding out more available however likewise triggering disputes on its impact.
While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their learning experience, lecturers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens scholastic stability, particularly with numerous trainees not able to defend their assignments or given works.
Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed disappointment over the growing dependence on AI-generated reactions among students recounting a recent experience he had.
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"I provided an assignment to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the exact very same answers. These trainees did not even know each other, but they all used the same AI tool to create their responses," he said.
He noted that this trend prevails amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is especially worrying in part-time and range knowing programs.
"AI is a major obstacle when it pertains to assignments. Many students no longer believe critically-they simply go on the internet, create responses, and submit," he included.
Surprisingly, some speakers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and trainees turn to AI for benefit instead of intellectual rigor.
This dispute raises important concerns about the function of AI in academic stability and trainee development.
According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million regular monthly active users in January 2023, only one country had launched guidelines on generative AI since July 2023.
Since December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million individuals utilizing the AI chatbot each week and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the globe.
Decline of academic rigor
University speakers are increasingly concerned about students sending AI-generated assignments without genuinely comprehending the material.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about trainees increasingly counting on ChatGPT, just to fight with responding to standard questions when tested.
"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send polished tasks, but when asked standard questions, they go blank. It's frustrating due to the fact that education has to do with discovering, not just passing courses," he said.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu mentioned that the increasing number of top-notch graduates can not be totally credited to AI however admitted that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A top-notch trainee is a top-notch trainee, AI or not, but that does not imply they don't cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, however it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he said.
- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different issue that some speakers themselves are guilty of the very same practice.
"It's not just trainees utilizing AI slackly. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course details, marking plans, and even examination questions with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn use AI to create answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real learning," he lamented.
Students' perspectives on use
Students, on the other hand, state AI has enhanced their knowing experience by making academic products more easy to understand and available.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has considerably aided her learning by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI assisted me comprehend things more easily, specifically when dealing with complex topics," she explained.
However, she recalled a circumstances when she utilized AI to send her job, just for her speaker to immediately recognize that it was produced by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad result.
- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a superior degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly believes that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking questions and focusing on locations that lecturers emphasize in class, as they are often shown in exam questions.
"It's all about existing, paying attention, and using the wealth of knowledge shared by my colleagues," he said,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, admits to sometimes copying straight from ChatGPT when dealing with numerous deadlines.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple deadlines, and I know I'm guilty of that, most times the speakers do not get to check out them, however AI has actually likewise assisted me learn faster."
Balancing AI's role in education
Experts think the option depends on AI literacy; mentor students and lecturers how to utilize AI as a knowing aid rather than a .
- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the importance of a well balanced technique that preserves human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance learning outcomes.
"As we navigate the quickly progressing landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human company in education. We need to make sure that AI boosts, instead of replaces, educators' important role in shaping young minds," he stated
Concerns over AI in Learning
Dorcas Akintade, sciencewiki.science a cybersecurity transformation professional, dealt with growing issues relating to using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective dangers to the educational system.
- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, highlighted the need for caution in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among educators and schools toward including AI tools in discovering environments. She determined 2 primary factors why AI tools are dissuaded in academic settings: security risks and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, wiki.lafabriquedelalogistique.fr which may not line up with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, explaining that AI does not deal with particular mentor methods.
Plagiarism is another issue, as AI pulls from existing information, frequently without proper attribution
"A great deal of individuals need to understand, like I said, this is information 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 suggests that is another individual's documents," she cautioned.
- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI development called "hallucination," where AI tools would produce details that was not accurate.
"Hallucination meant that it was highlighting info from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that details from you, it was going to make one up," she explained.
She suggested "grounding" AI by providing it with specific info to avoid such errors.
Navigating AI in Education
Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the solution, especially when AI provides a chance to leapfrog traditional academic methods.
- She believes that regularly enhancing crucial info assists individuals remember and avoid making errors when faced with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform people the same thing over and over again, when they will make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."
She also empasized the requirement for clear policies and procedures within schools, keeping in mind that numerous schools need to attend to individuals and procedure aspects of this use.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally use tasks to ensure trainees supply original work." However, he acknowledged that handling large classes makes this technique challenging.
"If you set complex questions, trainees won't be able to use AI to get direct responses," he explained.
He emphasized the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting exam questions that AI can not quickly fix while acknowledging that some lecturers battle to counter AI misuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he said.
- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, responsibility, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the regulation of AI in education, advising institutions to audit algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they fulfill ethical requirements, protect user data, and filter unsuitable content.
- It stresses the need to evaluate the long-lasting impact of AI on critical skills like believing and imagination while creating policies that align with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO recommends carrying out age limitations for GenAI use to protect younger trainees and protect susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it encouraged embracing a coordinated nationwide technique to regulating GenAI, consisting of establishing oversight bodies and aligning guidelines with existing data security and personal privacy laws. It highlights evaluating AI dangers, enforcing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and making sure nationwide information ownership.