Nigerian Students Turn to aI For Tests Answers, Lecturers Raise Alarm
Expert System (AI) is changing education while making finding out more available but also sparking arguments on its impact.
While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their knowing experience, speakers are raising issues about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens academic integrity, particularly with numerous trainees not able to safeguard their assignments or offered works.
Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated reactions among students recounting a recent experience he had.
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"I provided an assignment to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 students, about 40% submitted the precise same answers. These students did not even understand each other, however they all used the very same AI tool to produce their reactions," he said.
He noted that this pattern is prevalent among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees but is specifically worrying in part-time and range knowing programs.
"AI is a serious challenge when it comes to assignments. Many trainees no longer believe critically-they simply go on the internet, create answers, and submit," he included.
Surprisingly, shiapedia.1god.org some speakers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and students turn to AI for benefit instead of intellectual rigor.
This debate raises critical concerns about the function of AI in scholastic stability and trainee advancement.
According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January 2023, only one nation had released regulations on generative AI since July 2023.
As of December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people utilizing the AI chatbot weekly and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the world.
Decline of academic rigor
University lecturers are significantly concerned about trainees submitting AI-generated tasks without really understanding the content.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about students significantly depending on ChatGPT, only to have problem with answering fundamental questions when checked.
"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and send refined projects, however when asked standard questions, they go blank. It's frustrating since education has to do with discovering, not simply passing courses," he said.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu explained that the increasing number of top-notch graduates can not be totally attributed to AI but confessed that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A first-class student is a superior trainee, AI or not, however that doesn't imply they do not cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, but it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he said.
- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the very same practice.
"It's not simply trainees using AI slackly. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course details, marking schemes, and even test concerns with AI without examining them. Students in turn use AI to generate answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine knowing," he lamented.
Students' point of views on usage
Students, on the other hand, state AI has enhanced their knowing experience by making scholastic materials more reasonable and available.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has substantially assisted her knowing by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI assisted me comprehend things more quickly, specifically when dealing with complex subjects," she discussed.
However, she recalled a circumstances when she used AI to submit her job, just for her speaker to instantly recognize that it was generated by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad effect.
- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently graduated with a first-rate degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his outstanding grades to actively engaging by asking questions and concentrating on locations that speakers stress in class, as they are typically reflected in exam concerns.
"It's everything about existing, paying attention, and tapping into the wealth of understanding shared by my associates," he said,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, confesses to occasionally copying straight from ChatGPT when facing numerous due dates.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have numerous deadlines, and I know I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the lecturers don't get to review them, but AI has also assisted me discover much faster."
Balancing AI's function in education
Experts believe the option depends on AI literacy; mentor trainees and lecturers how to use AI as a knowing aid instead of a shortcut.
- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the value of a balanced method that preserves human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance discovering results.
"As we navigate the quickly progressing landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human firm in education. We should make sure that AI boosts, rather than changes, teachers' vital function in forming young minds," he stated
Concerns over AI in Learning
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change expert, dealt with growing issues concerning the use of synthetic intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible risks to the instructional system.
- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, however, emphasized the need for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among teachers and schools towards integrating AI tools in learning environments. She determined 2 main reasons that AI tools are discouraged in academic settings: security threats and plagiarism. She explained that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based on user interactions, which might not line up with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, discussing that AI does not deal with specific teaching methods.
Plagiarism is another issue, as AI pulls from existing data, frequently without correct attribution
"A lot of people need to comprehend, like I stated, this is information that has been trained on. It is not just bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing details that some other people are fed into it, which in essence implies that is another person's documents," she cautioned.
- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI development known as "hallucination," where AI tools would create details that was not accurate.
"Hallucination indicated that it was bringing out information from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that info from you, it was going to make one up," she explained.
She advised "grounding" AI by offering it with specific information to prevent such errors.
Navigating AI in Education
Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the option, especially when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog conventional academic approaches.
- She believes that regularly reinforcing essential information assists people keep in mind and prevent making mistakes when faced with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform individuals the exact same thing over and over again, when they are about to make the mistakes, then they'll remember."
She also empasized the requirement for setiathome.berkeley.edu clear policies and procedures within schools, keeping in mind that lots of schools should resolve individuals and procedure elements of this usage.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class tasks and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly utilize assignments to make sure trainees offer original work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this method tough.
"If you set complicated questions, trainees won't have the ability to use AI to get direct answers," he explained.
He emphasized the need for universities to train speakers on crafting exam concerns that AI can not easily fix while acknowledging that some speakers struggle to counter AI abuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he said.
- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, responsibility, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the guideline of AI in education, advising organizations to investigate algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they satisfy ethical requirements, drapia.org protect user information, pipewiki.org and filter improper material.
- It worries the need to examine the long-lasting effect of AI on critical abilities like thinking and imagination while developing policies that align with ethical frameworks. Additionally, archmageriseswiki.com UNESCO suggests carrying out age restrictions for GenAI use to protect more youthful students and protect susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it recommended embracing a coordinated nationwide technique to controling GenAI, including establishing oversight bodies and lining up regulations with existing data security and personal privacy laws. It highlights assessing AI risks, imposing more stringent rules for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing nationwide information ownership.