Nigerian Students Turn to aI For Tests Answers, Lecturers Raise Alarm
Expert System (AI) is revolutionizing education while making learning more accessible but also stimulating arguments on its effect.
While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their learning experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines academic integrity, especially with many students unable to defend 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 dependence on AI-generated reactions among trainees stating a recent experience he had.
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"I gave a task to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the precise very same answers. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all utilized the very same AI tool to create their actions," he stated.
He kept in mind that this pattern is widespread among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is especially concerning in part-time and range knowing programs.
"AI is a severe obstacle when it concerns tasks. Many students no longer believe critically-they just browse the web, generate responses, and send," he added.
Surprisingly, some speakers are likewise implicated 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 critical concerns 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 actually launched guidelines on generative AI since July 2023.
Since December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million individuals utilizing the AI chatbot every week and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the world.
Decline of scholastic rigor
University speakers are increasingly concerned about students submitting AI-generated assignments without truly comprehending the content.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his issues to Nairametrics about students significantly depending on ChatGPT, only to deal with answering basic questions when evaluated.
"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit refined assignments, however when asked standard questions, they go blank. It's disappointing because education is about discovering, not simply passing courses," he stated.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu mentioned that the increasing variety of top-notch graduates can not be completely credited to AI however confessed that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A first-rate trainee is a superior student, AI or not, however that doesn't indicate they do not cheat. The advantages of AI may be peripheral, however it is making students reliant and less analytical," he stated.
- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various issue that some speakers themselves are guilty of the very same practice.
"It's not just students using AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course lays out, marking plans, and even test concerns with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn use AI to create answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine learning," he regreted.
Students' perspectives on usage
Students, on the other hand, say AI has improved their knowing experience by making academic products more understandable and available.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has significantly aided her learning by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI helped me comprehend things more easily, particularly when handling complex subjects," she described.
However, she recalled an instance when she utilized AI to send her project, just for her speaker to instantly acknowledge that it was created by ChatGPT and decline 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, firmly thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking concerns and concentrating on locations that speakers emphasize in class, as they are typically shown in exam concerns.
"It's all about existing, focusing, and tapping into the wealth of understanding shared by my associates," he said,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to occasionally copying straight from ChatGPT when facing several due dates.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have numerous due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the lecturers don't get to check out them, but AI has likewise helped me find out quicker."
Balancing AI's function in education
Experts think the option depends on AI literacy; teaching students and lecturers how to use AI as a knowing aid rather than a shortcut.
- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the importance of a well balanced approach that preserves human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance learning results.
"As we navigate the quickly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is important that we prioritise human company in education. We should ensure that AI enhances, instead of changes, teachers' crucial function in forming young minds," he stated
Concerns over AI in Learning
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement expert, addressed growing issues concerning using expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential threats to the instructional system.
- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, highlighted the need for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance among educators and schools towards including AI tools in discovering environments. She identified 2 main reasons AI tools are prevented in educational settings: security threats and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon user interactions, 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 cater to particular mentor approaches.
Plagiarism is another issue, as AI pulls from existing information, frequently without correct attribution
"A lot of people need to understand, like I said, this is data that has actually 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 means that is another person's documents," she warned.
- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI development called "hallucination," where AI tools would generate info that was not accurate.
"Hallucination implied that it was highlighting info from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she explained.
She advised "grounding" AI by supplying it with specific info to prevent such mistakes.
Navigating AI in Education
Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the service, especially when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog standard academic approaches.
- She believes that consistently enhancing essential details assists individuals remember and avoid making mistakes when confronted with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the very same thing over and over again, when they will make the errors, then they'll keep in mind."
She also empasized the requirement for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that lots of schools should address the individuals and process elements of this usage.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually resorted to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I primarily use assignments to ensure students provide initial work." However, forums.cgb.designknights.com he acknowledged that managing large classes makes this approach challenging.
"If you set intricate questions, students won't be able to use AI to get direct responses," he explained.
He emphasized the requirement for universities to on crafting test questions that AI can not quickly solve while acknowledging that some speakers struggle to counter AI misuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he said.
- 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 calls for the guideline of AI in education, advising institutions to audit algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they meet ethical standards, protect user information, and filter inappropriate material.
- It worries the requirement to examine the long-lasting effect of AI on vital skills like believing and imagination while creating policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, garagesale.es UNESCO suggests implementing age constraints for GenAI usage to protect more youthful students and safeguard susceptible groups.
- For governments, it recommended embracing a collaborated nationwide approach to controling GenAI, consisting of developing oversight bodies and aligning regulations with existing data security and personal privacy laws. It stresses evaluating AI dangers, enforcing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and ensuring national information ownership.