Nigerian Students Turn to aI For Tests Answers, Lecturers Raise Alarm

Expert System (AI) is changing education while making discovering more accessible however likewise on its impact.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their knowing experience, lecturers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens scholastic stability, specifically with many students unable to safeguard their tasks or provided works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed disappointment over the growing dependence on AI-generated actions among trainees stating a current experience he had.

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

He noted that this trend is common among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is especially concerning in part-time and range learning programs.

"AI is a major challenge when it pertains to tasks. Many students no longer think critically-they simply browse the web, create responses, and submit," he included.

Surprisingly, some lecturers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both teachers and trainees turn to AI for convenience rather than intellectual rigor.

This debate raises critical questions about the function 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, just one nation had released guidelines on generative AI as of July 2023.

As of December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people using the AI chatbot every week and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the world.

Decline of academic rigor

University speakers are increasingly worried about trainees sending AI-generated projects without genuinely comprehending the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about students progressively counting on ChatGPT, just to deal with responding to basic concerns when tested.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and send polished projects, but when asked basic concerns, they go blank. It's disappointing since education is about learning, not simply passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu mentioned that the increasing variety of top-notch graduates can not be entirely associated to AI however admitted that even high-performing students utilize these tools.
"A first-rate student is a first-class student, AI or not, but that does not suggest they do not cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, but it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he stated.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different issue that some speakers themselves are guilty of the very same practice.
"It's not just students utilizing AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course outlines, marking plans, and even test concerns with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn utilize AI to create responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing genuine knowing," he lamented.

Students' viewpoints on use

Students, on the other hand, state AI has enhanced their knowing experience by making academic products more understandable and available.

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has considerably helped her knowing by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI helped me understand things more quickly, especially when dealing with complicated subjects," she discussed.

However, she recalled a circumstances when she used AI to submit her job, only for her speaker to immediately acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted 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 believes that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his exceptional grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and concentrating on areas that speakers emphasize in class, as they are frequently shown in examination questions.
"It's everything about existing, focusing, 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 straight from ChatGPT when dealing with several deadlines.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple due dates, and I understand I'm guilty of that, many times the speakers do not get to go through them, however AI has likewise assisted me discover faster."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts believe the solution depends on AI literacy; mentor trainees and lecturers how to utilize AI as a learning help rather than a faster way.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the importance of a well balanced technique that maintains human involvement while utilizing AI to enhance learning outcomes.
"As we browse the quickly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is vital that we prioritise human company in education. We need to ensure that AI boosts, rather than replaces, educators' essential function in forming young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation specialist, smfsimple.com attended to growing issues concerning making use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible threats to the instructional system.

- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, emphasized the requirement for caution in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst teachers and schools towards incorporating AI tools in learning environments. She recognized two main factors why AI tools are prevented in instructional settings: security risks and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based upon 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 doesn't accommodate particular mentor methods.

Plagiarism is another concern, visualchemy.gallery as AI pulls from existing data, frequently without proper attribution

"A lot of individuals require to understand, like I stated, this is data that has been trained on. It is not just bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing information that some other people are fed into it, which in essence indicates that is another individual's documentation," she cautioned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early concern in AI advancement called "hallucination," where AI tools would create info that was not factual.
"Hallucination indicated that it was drawing out information from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.

She advised "grounding" AI by supplying it with specific details to prevent such mistakes.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the option, especially when AI presents a chance to leapfrog traditional educational approaches.

- She thinks that regularly enhancing key details assists people remember and prevent making mistakes when faced with difficulties.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform individuals the exact 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 procedures within schools, keeping in mind that lots of schools should resolve the individuals and procedure aspects of this usage.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has resorted to in-class tasks and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally use tasks to make sure students supply initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this approach difficult.

"If you set complicated concerns, trainees will not have the ability to utilize AI to get direct responses," he explained.

He highlighted the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting examination concerns that AI can not easily solve while acknowledging that some speakers battle to counter AI misuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he stated.

- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, accountability, and privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report requires the regulation of AI in education, encouraging organizations to examine algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they meet ethical standards, secure user data, and filter improper material.
- It stresses the requirement to assess the long-lasting effect of AI on vital abilities like believing and imagination while developing policies that line up with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO recommends carrying out age limitations for GenAI usage to safeguard more youthful students and protect susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it encouraged embracing a collaborated nationwide technique to controling GenAI, consisting of establishing oversight bodies and aligning guidelines with existing data defense and personal privacy laws. It highlights evaluating AI risks, implementing more stringent rules for high-risk applications, and making sure national data ownership.