Nigerian Students Turn To AI For Tests Answers Lecturers Raise Alarm

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reinventing education while making finding out more accessible however likewise stimulating arguments on its effect.


While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their knowing experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines academic stability, particularly with lots of students 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 frustration over the growing dependence on AI-generated reactions among trainees recounting a current experience he had.


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"I gave a project to my MBA students, and out of over 100 students, about 40% submitted the precise same answers. These trainees did not even know each other, however they all utilized the exact same AI tool to generate their reactions," he stated.


He kept in mind that this trend prevails among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is specifically concerning in part-time and distance knowing programs.


"AI is a major difficulty when it concerns tasks. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply go on the internet, create answers, and send," he included.


Surprisingly, some lecturers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both teachers and students turn to AI for benefit rather than intellectual rigor.


This debate raises vital concerns about the role of AI in academic stability and trainee development.


According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January 2023, just one country had released policies on generative AI since July 2023.


Since December 2024, freechat.mytakeonit.org ChatGPT had more than 300 million using the AI chatbot weekly and 1 billion messages sent out every day worldwide.


Decline of scholastic rigor


University speakers are progressively worried about trainees submitting AI-generated projects without truly understanding the material.


Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about students increasingly depending on ChatGPT, just to fight with responding to basic questions when checked.


"Many students copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek assignments, however when asked fundamental questions, they go blank. It's frustrating because education has to do with learning, not simply passing courses," he stated.


- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of superior graduates can not be totally attributed to AI however admitted that even high-performing students use these tools.


"A first-class trainee is a top-notch student, AI or not, however that doesn't mean they do not cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, but it is making trainees dependent and less analytical," he said.


- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the same practice.


"It's not simply trainees using AI slackly. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course describes, marking schemes, and even examination questions with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn use AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing genuine learning," he regreted.


Students' viewpoints on use


Students, on the other hand, dokuwiki.stream say AI has actually enhanced their learning experience by making scholastic products more easy to understand and accessible.


- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has considerably helped her learning by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of lengthy texts.


"AI assisted me comprehend things more quickly, specifically when handling complex subjects," she described.


However, she recalled an instance when she utilized AI to submit her project, just for her speaker to instantly acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad result.


- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a first-rate degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, firmly thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his exceptional grades to actively interesting by asking questions and concentrating on locations that speakers stress in class, wiki.die-karte-bitte.de as they are frequently shown in examination questions.


"It's everything about existing, focusing, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared by my coworkers," he stated,


- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to occasionally copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with several deadlines.


"To be honest, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple deadlines, and I understand I'm guilty of that, many times the speakers don't get to go through them, but AI has actually also helped me find out quicker."


Balancing AI's function in education


Experts think the service lies in AI literacy; teaching students and speakers how to utilize AI as a learning help rather than a faster way.


- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the value of a balanced approach that maintains human involvement while utilizing AI to enhance finding out outcomes.


"As we browse the rapidly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is important that we prioritise human firm in education. We must make sure that AI boosts, instead of changes, educators' crucial role in shaping young minds," he stated


Concerns over AI in Learning


Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change expert, resolved growing issues relating to the use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective dangers to the academic system.


- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, however, highlighted the requirement for caution in its usage.

- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance amongst educators and schools towards integrating AI tools in learning environments. She determined two main reasons that AI tools are discouraged in educational settings: security risks and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based on user interactions, which might not line up with the expectations of teachers.


"It is not taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade said, describing that AI does not deal with particular teaching methods.


Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing information, typically without correct attribution


"A lot of people need to understand, like I stated, this is data that has actually been trained on. It is not just bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing info that some other individuals are fed into it, which in essence indicates that is another person's paperwork," she warned.


- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI development understood as "hallucination," where AI tools would produce information that was not factual.


"Hallucination implied that it was highlighting information from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that details from you, it was going to make one up," she explained.


She advised "grounding" AI by supplying it with particular info to avoid such errors.


Navigating AI in Education


Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the solution, particularly when AI presents a chance to leapfrog standard instructional techniques.


- She believes that regularly strengthening crucial info assists individuals remember and avoid making mistakes when faced with obstacles.


"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the exact same thing over and over again, when they are about to make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."


She likewise empasized the requirement for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that many schools ought to address the people and procedure elements of this usage.


- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually resorted to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.


"Now, I primarily utilize tasks to guarantee students offer original work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this technique hard.


"If you set complex concerns, trainees will not be able to utilize AI to get direct answers," he discussed.


He highlighted the need for universities to train lecturers on crafting exam questions that AI can not easily fix while acknowledging that some lecturers battle to counter AI misuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he stated.


- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI advancement with fairness, openness, accountability, and personal privacy at its core.

- UNESCO in a report requires the policy of AI in education, advising organizations to audit algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they meet ethical requirements, protect user data, and filter improper content.

- It stresses the need to assess the long-term impact of AI on important abilities like thinking and imagination while developing policies that line up with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO suggests carrying out age limitations for GenAI use to safeguard more youthful students and safeguard vulnerable groups.
- For governments, it advised embracing a coordinated national method to managing GenAI, consisting of establishing oversight bodies and lining up guidelines with existing information security and personal privacy laws. It stresses assessing AI dangers, implementing more stringent guidelines for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing nationwide data ownership.