Nigerian Students Turn to aI For Tests Answers, Lecturers Raise Alarm
Expert System (AI) is transforming education while making learning more accessible but likewise stimulating debates on its impact.
While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their learning experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines academic stability, especially with lots of trainees unable to safeguard their assignments or offered works.
Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed disappointment over the growing dependence on AI-generated actions amongst trainees recounting a current experience he had.
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"I offered a project to my MBA students, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the specific very same responses. These students did not even understand each other, however they all utilized the exact same AI tool to create their actions," he stated.
He noted that this trend prevails amongst both undergraduate and archmageriseswiki.com postgraduate trainees however is particularly worrying in part-time and biolink.palcurr.com distance learning programs.
"AI is a severe obstacle when it comes to tasks. Many students no longer believe critically-they just go online, generate responses, and submit," he added.
Surprisingly, some lecturers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both teachers and students turn to AI for convenience rather than intellectual rigor.
This dispute raises crucial questions about the role of AI in scholastic stability and student development.
According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million regular monthly active users in January 2023, only one nation had launched policies on generative AI since July 2023.
Since December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people utilizing the AI chatbot every week and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the world.
Decline of scholastic rigor
University speakers are progressively worried about students submitting AI-generated assignments without truly comprehending the content.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about students significantly depending on ChatGPT, only to deal with responding to standard concerns when checked.
"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send polished tasks, but when asked fundamental concerns, they go blank. It's disappointing because education is about discovering, not just passing courses," he stated.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of top-notch graduates can not be totally attributed to AI but admitted that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A superior student is a top-notch trainee, AI or not, however that does not suggest they don't cheat. The advantages of AI may be peripheral, however it is making trainees dependent and less analytical," he stated.
- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different issue that some speakers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not just students using AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course outlines, marking schemes, and even examination questions with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn use AI to produce answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine knowing," he lamented.
Students' perspectives on usage
Students, on the other hand, state AI has enhanced their learning experience by making scholastic materials more reasonable and accessible.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has actually significantly aided her knowing by breaking down complex terms and providing summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI helped me understand things more easily, particularly when handling intricate subjects," she described.
However, she recalled an instance when she used AI to submit her project, only for her speaker to instantly recognize that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad effect.
- Bryan Okwuba, brotato.wiki.spellsandguns.com who recently finished with a first-class degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, securely believes that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking questions and focusing on areas that lecturers highlight in class, as they are typically shown in test concerns.
"It's everything about being present, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of understanding shared by my colleagues," he said,
- Tunde Awoshita, a marketing trainee at UNIZIK, admits to periodically copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with multiple due dates.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy straight 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 read through them, but AI has also assisted me discover quicker."
Balancing AI's role in education
Experts think the solution lies in AI literacy; teaching students and speakers how to use AI as a knowing help instead of a shortcut.
- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the significance of a balanced approach that maintains human involvement while utilizing AI to improve discovering outcomes.
"As we browse the quickly evolving landscape of Expert system (AI), it is vital that we prioritise human firm in education. We need to make sure that AI boosts, instead of changes, teachers' important role in forming young minds," he said
Concerns over AI in Learning
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change specialist, addressed growing issues concerning making use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective dangers to the instructional system.
- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, stressed the requirement for scientific-programs.science care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance amongst educators and schools toward incorporating AI tools in learning environments. She determined two main reasons that AI tools are dissuaded in educational settings: security dangers and plagiarism. She explained that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, which might not line up with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, describing that AI does not accommodate particular teaching approaches.
Plagiarism is another problem, as AI pulls from existing data, typically without correct attribution
"A lot 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 individuals are fed into it, which in essence indicates that is another person's paperwork," she cautioned.
- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI development known as "hallucination," where AI tools would generate info that was not factual.
"Hallucination meant that it was drawing out information from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that info from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.
She advised "grounding" AI by supplying it with particular info to prevent 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 standard educational approaches.
- She believes that consistently strengthening essential information assists people remember and prevent making mistakes when confronted with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform individuals the same thing over and over once again, when they are about to make the errors, then they'll remember."
She likewise empasized the requirement for clear policies and treatments within schools, noting that many schools must address individuals and process elements of this use.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly use projects to guarantee trainees offer original work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this technique hard.
"If you set intricate questions, students won't be able to use AI to get direct answers," he discussed.
He emphasized the requirement for universities to train speakers on crafting test concerns that AI can not quickly solve while acknowledging that some speakers battle to counter AI misuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he said.
- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, responsibility, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the policy of AI in education, advising organizations to examine algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they fulfill ethical standards, safeguard user information, and filter unsuitable content.
- It worries the requirement to evaluate the long-lasting effect of AI on vital skills like believing and imagination while developing policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO advises implementing age restrictions for GenAI use to secure more youthful students and users.atw.hu safeguard vulnerable groups.
- For federal governments, it recommended adopting a collaborated national approach to controling GenAI, consisting of establishing oversight bodies and lining up regulations with existing information defense and privacy laws. It stresses assessing AI risks, implementing more stringent rules for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing national information ownership.