Nigerian Students Turn To AI For Tests Answers Lecturers Raise Alarm

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reinventing education while making discovering more accessible however also triggering disputes on its impact.


While trainees 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 weakens scholastic stability, particularly with many students unable to defend their projects or given works.


Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed aggravation over the growing reliance on AI-generated reactions among trainees recounting a recent experience he had.


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"I offered a task to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 students, about 40% sent the specific very same responses. These students did not even know each other, however they all used the same AI tool to generate their actions," he said.


He noted that this trend is common amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees but is particularly worrying in part-time and distance knowing programs.


"AI is a severe difficulty when it pertains to projects. Many trainees no longer believe critically-they just browse the web, produce responses, and send," he included.


Surprisingly, some speakers are also implicated of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and trainees turn to AI for benefit rather than intellectual rigor.


This dispute raises important questions about the function of AI in academic integrity and trainee advancement.


According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January 2023, just one nation had launched policies on generative AI as of July 2023.


As of December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million individuals utilizing the AI chatbot every week and 1 billion messages sent every day around the globe.


Decline of scholastic rigor


University lecturers are increasingly concerned about trainees sending AI-generated tasks without genuinely comprehending the material.


Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his issues to Nairametrics about students progressively counting on ChatGPT, only to battle with responding to standard concerns when evaluated.


"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit refined projects, however when asked fundamental questions, they go blank. It's disappointing because education has to do with finding out, not just passing courses," he stated.


- Prof. Nwaogwugwu mentioned that the increasing variety of first-rate graduates can not be entirely attributed to AI but confessed that even high-performing students use these tools.


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


- Another lecturer, engel-und-waisen.de Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various issue that some speakers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.


"It's not simply students utilizing AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course outlines, marking plans, and even test concerns with AI without examining them. Students in turn utilize AI to generate answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing genuine learning," he regreted.


Students' point of views on usage


Students, on the other hand, say AI has actually enhanced their knowing experience by making academic materials more easy to understand and accessible.


- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has substantially aided her learning by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of lengthy texts.


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


However, she recalled a circumstances when she used AI to send her project, just for her speaker to instantly recognize that it was generated by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad impact.


- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently finished with a first-class degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively appealing by asking questions and focusing on locations that lecturers highlight in class, as they are typically reflected in examination concerns.


"It's everything about existing, taking note, and taking advantage of the wealth of understanding shared by my associates," he stated,


- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to sometimes copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with several 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, the majority of times the lecturers don't get to check out them, but AI has also assisted me discover quicker."


Balancing AI's function in education


Experts believe the option lies in AI literacy; teaching trainees and lecturers how to use AI as a learning help rather than a shortcut.


- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the value of a well balanced approach that keeps human participation while utilizing AI to improve discovering outcomes.


"As we browse the rapidly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human firm in education. We need to guarantee that AI boosts, instead of replaces, teachers' vital function in forming young minds," he said


Concerns over AI in Learning


Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement expert, resolved growing issues regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective threats to the academic system.


- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, however, highlighted the need for caution in its use.

- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst teachers and schools towards incorporating AI tools in learning environments. She determined 2 primary reasons that AI tools are prevented in educational settings: security threats and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based on user interactions, bryggeriklubben.se which might not line up with the expectations of educators.


"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, describing that AI does not cater to particular teaching methods.


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


"A lot of people need to understand, like I stated, this is information that has actually been trained on. It is not simply bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing info 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 concern in AI development referred to as "hallucination," where AI tools would generate details that was not factual.


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


She advised "grounding" AI by providing it with particular details to prevent such errors.


Navigating AI in Education


Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the solution, particularly when AI provides an opportunity to leapfrog traditional academic techniques.


- She believes that consistently enhancing key details assists individuals remember and avoid making mistakes when confronted with obstacles.


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


She also empasized the need for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that many schools must attend to individuals and procedure elements of this use.


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


"Now, I generally utilize tasks to ensure students offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling large classes makes this approach hard.


"If you set intricate questions, trainees won't be able to use AI to get direct answers," he described.


He emphasized the requirement for universities to train speakers on crafting exam concerns that AI can not quickly solve while acknowledging that some lecturers battle to counter AI abuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he said.


- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI advancement with fairness, openness, forum.kepri.bawaslu.go.id responsibility, and personal privacy at its core.

- UNESCO in a report calls for the guideline of AI in education, encouraging institutions to investigate algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they fulfill ethical standards, safeguard user information, and filter improper material.

- It worries the need to assess the long-lasting impact of AI on important abilities like thinking and imagination while producing policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO recommends implementing age limitations for GenAI usage to protect younger students and secure susceptible groups.
- For governments, it recommended adopting a method to controling GenAI, consisting of developing oversight bodies and lining up guidelines with existing data defense and personal privacy laws. It stresses evaluating AI risks, complexityzoo.net enforcing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing nationwide data ownership.