Nigerian Students Turn to aI For Tests Answers, Lecturers Raise Alarm
Expert System (AI) is revolutionizing education while making finding out more accessible however likewise stimulating disputes on its impact.
While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their learning experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens academic integrity, especially with numerous trainees not able to protect their tasks or opentx.cz offered works.
Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed frustration over the growing reliance on AI-generated reactions among trainees stating a current experience he had.
RelatedStories
Avoid sharing personal details that can identify you with AI tools- Expert warns
Chinese AI app DeepSeek stimulates international tech selloff, obstacles U.S. AI dominance
"I gave a project to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 students, about 40% submitted the specific very same answers. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all utilized the same AI tool to produce their responses," he stated.
He noted that this trend is common among both undergraduate and postgraduate students however is especially concerning in part-time and distance learning programs.
"AI is a severe obstacle when it comes to tasks. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply go on the internet, generate responses, and submit," he included.
Surprisingly, some speakers are also accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and trainees turn to AI for benefit instead of .
This debate raises important concerns about the function of AI in academic integrity and sitiosecuador.com trainee advancement.
According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January 2023, users.atw.hu only one nation had released regulations on generative AI as of July 2023.
As of December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people utilizing the AI chatbot each week and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the world.
Decline of scholastic rigor
University speakers are progressively concerned about trainees submitting AI-generated projects without truly understanding the content.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about students progressively relying on ChatGPT, only to struggle with answering standard questions when evaluated.
"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek assignments, but when asked standard concerns, they go blank. It's disappointing since education has to do with discovering, not simply passing courses," he said.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of top-notch graduates can not be totally credited to AI however confessed that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A superior student is a top-notch trainee, AI or not, however that does not imply they don't cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, however it is making trainees dependent and less analytical," he said.
- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not just students utilizing AI lazily. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course outlines, marking schemes, and even exam concerns with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn use AI to create answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real learning," he lamented.
Students' point of views on use
Students, on the other hand, say AI has actually enhanced their learning experience by making academic products more reasonable and available.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has actually significantly aided her learning by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI helped me comprehend things more easily, particularly when dealing with complicated subjects," she described.
However, she remembered an instance when she used AI to submit her task, just for her speaker to immediately acknowledge that it was produced 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, firmly thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking concerns and focusing on areas that lecturers highlight in class, as they are frequently reflected in test concerns.
"It's everything about existing, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared by my coworkers," he stated,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to periodically copying directly from ChatGPT when facing several due dates.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have several due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the speakers do not get to read through them, but AI has actually also helped me find out faster."
Balancing AI's function in education
Experts think the service lies in AI literacy; teaching trainees 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, worrying the value of a balanced technique that keeps human participation while utilizing AI to improve discovering outcomes.
"As we navigate the rapidly progressing landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human firm in education. We must make sure that AI enhances, rather than replaces, educators' crucial function in shaping young minds," he stated
Concerns over AI in Learning
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation specialist, resolved growing concerns regarding the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential dangers to the instructional system.
- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, however, stressed the need for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance among teachers and schools towards including AI tools in learning environments. She determined two main reasons AI tools are prevented in educational settings: akropolistravel.com security dangers and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based on user interactions, akropolistravel.com which may not line up with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, describing that AI does not accommodate particular teaching techniques.
Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing information, frequently without proper attribution
"A great deal of people require to comprehend, like I stated, 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 individuals are fed into it, which in essence indicates that is another person's documentation," she warned.
- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI advancement referred to as "hallucination," where AI tools would produce info that was not factual.
"Hallucination implied that it was highlighting info from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that details from you, it was going to make one up," she described.
She suggested "grounding" AI by offering 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 presents an opportunity to leapfrog traditional instructional approaches.
- She believes that regularly enhancing crucial details assists individuals keep in mind and prevent making errors when confronted with obstacles.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform people the very same thing over and over once again, when they will make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."
She also empasized the requirement for clear policies and treatments within schools, keeping in mind that many schools must address the individuals and process aspects of this usage.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has turned to in-class tasks and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally use projects to ensure students supply initial work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this method challenging.
"If you set intricate concerns, students won't be able to utilize AI to get direct responses," he explained.
He stressed the need for universities to train speakers on crafting test questions that AI can not quickly solve while acknowledging that some lecturers struggle to counter AI abuse 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 development with fairness, transparency, accountability, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the regulation of AI in education, encouraging organizations to audit algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they satisfy ethical requirements, safeguard user data, and filter unsuitable material.
- It worries the need to evaluate the long-lasting impact of AI on important abilities like thinking and creativity while producing policies that line up with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO advises implementing age restrictions for menwiki.men GenAI use to protect more youthful students and protect vulnerable groups.
- For governments, it recommended embracing a coordinated national technique to regulating GenAI, consisting of developing oversight bodies and lining up policies with existing information security and personal privacy laws. It stresses assessing AI risks, implementing more stringent guidelines for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing national information ownership.