Nigerian Students Turn To AI For Tests Answers Lecturers Raise Alarm

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


While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their knowing experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens scholastic integrity, especially with numerous students unable to defend their projects or given works.


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


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


He noted that this pattern prevails amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is specifically concerning in part-time and distance knowing programs.


"AI is a major obstacle when it comes to assignments. Many students no longer think critically-they simply go on the internet, generate responses, and send," he added.


Surprisingly, some lecturers are also accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and trainees turn to AI for benefit instead of intellectual rigor.


This debate raises crucial questions about the role of AI in academic stability and student advancement.


According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million regular monthly active users in January 2023, just one had actually launched regulations on generative AI since July 2023.


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


Decline of academic rigor


University speakers are significantly concerned about trainees sending AI-generated projects without truly understanding the material.


Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees progressively depending on ChatGPT, bio.rogstecnologia.com.br just to fight with addressing standard questions when tested.


"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send polished assignments, however when asked fundamental questions, they go blank. It's frustrating since education has to do with discovering, not simply passing courses," he stated.


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


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


- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, users.atw.hu from Ebonyi State University, raised a different issue that some speakers themselves are guilty of the same practice.


"It's not just trainees using AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course outlines, marking schemes, and even examination concerns with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn utilize AI to generate answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real knowing," he lamented.


Students' perspectives on usage


Students, on the other hand, state AI has actually improved their knowing experience by making scholastic materials more reasonable and links.gtanet.com.br accessible.


- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de shared how AI has substantially helped her knowing by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of lengthy texts.


"AI assisted me comprehend things more quickly, specifically when dealing with complex topics," she described.


However, she remembered a circumstances when she used AI to send her task, just for her speaker to right away acknowledge that it was generated by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola kept in mind 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, firmly believes that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking questions and concentrating on areas that lecturers emphasize in class, as they are typically reflected in test questions.


"It's all about existing, taking note, and tapping into 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 facing multiple due dates.


"To be sincere, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have several due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, many times the lecturers do not get to read through them, however AI has likewise assisted me discover quicker."


Balancing AI's role in education


Experts believe the solution lies in AI literacy; mentor trainees and lecturers how to utilize AI as a knowing help instead of a faster way.


- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the value of a balanced approach that keeps human participation while harnessing AI to enhance learning results.


"As we navigate the quickly evolving landscape of Expert system (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human agency in education. We should guarantee that AI improves, rather than replaces, educators' vital function in forming young minds," he said


Concerns over AI in Learning


Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation specialist, resolved growing concerns concerning making use of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective threats to the academic system.


- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, however, highlighted the requirement for caution in its usage.

- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among teachers and schools towards incorporating AI tools in discovering environments. She recognized two main reasons AI tools are dissuaded in instructional settings: security risks and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based upon user interactions, which may not line up with the expectations of educators.


"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, discussing that AI doesn't accommodate particular mentor approaches.


Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing data, often without proper attribution


"A great deal of individuals need to understand, like I said, this is data that has been trained on. It is not just bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing details that some other people are fed into it, which in essence means that is another person's documents," she cautioned.


- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI development understood as "hallucination," where AI tools would create information that was not factual.


"Hallucination implied 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 described.


She advised "grounding" AI by supplying it with particular information to avoid such mistakes.


Navigating AI in Education


Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the option, particularly when AI provides an opportunity to leapfrog standard instructional methods.


- She believes that regularly enhancing key details helps people keep in mind and prevent making errors when confronted with challenges.


"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform people the same thing over and over once again, when they are about to make the errors, then they'll remember."


She likewise empasized the need for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that numerous schools should address the people and process aspects of this use.


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


"Now, I mainly utilize projects to make sure students offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this technique challenging.


"If you set complicated questions, trainees won't have the ability to utilize AI to get direct responses," he discussed.


He emphasized the need for universities to train speakers on crafting examination questions that AI can not easily resolve while acknowledging that some lecturers battle to counter AI abuse 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, photorum.eclat-mauve.fr openness, accountability, and personal privacy at its core.

- UNESCO in a report requires the guideline of AI in education, encouraging institutions to audit algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical standards, secure user data, and filter inappropriate material.

- It stresses the requirement to examine the long-lasting effect of AI on vital abilities like thinking and creativity while creating policies that line up with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO suggests implementing age limitations for GenAI use to protect younger trainees and protect susceptible groups.
- For governments, it recommended embracing a collaborated nationwide technique to controling GenAI, including establishing oversight bodies and aligning guidelines with existing data protection and personal privacy laws. It stresses evaluating AI threats, enforcing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing national data ownership.