Nigerian Students Turn To AI For Tests Answers Lecturers Raise Alarm
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing education while making discovering more available but likewise stimulating disputes on its effect.
While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their learning experience, lecturers are raising concerns about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens scholastic stability, particularly with lots of students unable to safeguard their tasks or given 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 reactions among trainees stating a current experience he had.
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"I provided a project to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 students, about 40% submitted the exact very same answers. These students did not even know each other, but they all utilized the very same AI tool to generate their responses," he stated.
He noted that this trend prevails among both undergraduate and postgraduate students but is specifically concerning in part-time and range learning programs.
"AI is a severe obstacle when it concerns tasks. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply go online, create answers, and submit," he added.
Surprisingly, some speakers are also implicated of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both teachers and trainees turn to AI for convenience instead of intellectual rigor.
This dispute raises critical questions about the function of AI in scholastic integrity and student development.
According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January 2023, just one country had actually launched guidelines on generative AI as of July 2023.
Since December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million people utilizing the AI chatbot each week and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the globe.
Decline of scholastic rigor
University lecturers are progressively worried about students submitting AI-generated projects without really understanding the content.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees significantly depending on ChatGPT, only to have problem with responding to fundamental concerns when tested.
"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit refined tasks, however when asked standard questions, they go blank. It's frustrating because education is about learning, not just passing courses," he stated.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of first-rate graduates can not be completely credited to AI however confessed that even high-performing trainees utilize these tools.
"A first-rate student is a first-class trainee, AI or not, however that does not imply they do not cheat. The advantages of AI may be peripheral, however it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he stated.
- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, akropolistravel.com from Ebonyi State University, raised a different issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.
"It's not just students utilizing AI lazily. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course lays out, marking schemes, and even test questions with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn use AI to produce responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real knowing," he lamented.
Students' perspectives on usage
Students, on the other hand, state AI has actually enhanced their knowing experience by making scholastic materials more understandable and available.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has significantly helped her learning by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more quickly, especially when handling intricate subjects," she described.
However, she remembered an instance when she used AI to submit 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 result.
- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently finished with a top-notch degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, sitiosecuador.com securely thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking questions and focusing on locations that speakers emphasize in class, as they are often reflected in exam questions.
"It's all about existing, focusing, and tapping into the wealth of understanding shared by my associates," he stated,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to occasionally copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with multiple due dates.
"To be honest, 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 speakers don't get to go through them, but AI has actually likewise assisted me find out much faster."
Balancing AI's role in education
Experts believe the option lies in AI literacy; mentor students and lecturers how to utilize AI as a rather than a faster way.
- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the importance of a balanced approach that preserves human involvement while utilizing AI to improve discovering outcomes.
"As we navigate the rapidly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human agency in education. We need to guarantee that AI improves, rather than replaces, teachers' important role in forming young minds," he stated
Concerns over AI in Learning
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation professional, addressed growing concerns concerning using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible risks to the instructional system.
- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, emphasized the need for caution in its usage.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst teachers and schools towards integrating AI tools in finding out environments. She identified two primary reasons that AI tools are prevented in academic settings: security dangers and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based on user interactions, which might not line up with the expectations of teachers.
"It is not taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade said, describing that AI does not accommodate specific mentor techniques.
Plagiarism is another issue, as AI pulls from existing information, typically without appropriate attribution
"A great deal of individuals require to comprehend, like I stated, this is data that has been trained on. It is not simply bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing info that some other individuals 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 understood as "hallucination," where AI tools would generate info that was not factual.
"Hallucination indicated that it was drawing out info from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that details from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.
She recommended "grounding" AI by providing it with specific information to avoid such errors.
Navigating AI in Education
Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the service, particularly when AI provides a chance to leapfrog standard academic techniques.
- She believes that regularly strengthening key info assists people remember and avoid making errors when faced with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform individuals the same thing over and over again, when they are about to make the errors, then they'll keep in mind."
She likewise empasized the requirement for clear policies and treatments within schools, keeping in mind that numerous schools ought to address the individuals and process aspects of this usage.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has turned to in-class assignments and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly utilize projects to guarantee students offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that managing large classes makes this technique hard.
"If you set complex concerns, trainees won't be able to use AI to get direct answers," he described.
He highlighted the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting exam questions that AI can not easily fix while acknowledging that some lecturers struggle to counter AI misuse due to a lack of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he said.
- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI advancement with fairness, openness, responsibility, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the policy of AI in education, encouraging organizations to examine algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they satisfy ethical standards, protect user information, and filter unsuitable material.
- It worries the need to assess the long-lasting effect of AI on vital abilities like believing and creativity while creating policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, smfsimple.com UNESCO suggests carrying out age limitations for GenAI usage to secure younger trainees and secure susceptible groups.
- For governments, it recommended embracing a coordinated national approach to regulating GenAI, consisting of developing oversight bodies and lining up guidelines with existing information defense and privacy laws. It stresses evaluating AI risks, enforcing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and ensuring nationwide data ownership.