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

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Expert System (AI) is reinventing education while making discovering more accessible but also stimulating debates on its effect.

Expert System (AI) is reinventing education while making finding out more accessible however likewise stimulating disputes on its impact.


While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their knowing experience, speakers are raising issues about the growing dependence on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic integrity, especially with numerous trainees not able to safeguard their projects or given works.


Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated responses among students recounting a current experience he had.


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"I gave a project to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the specific same responses. These students did not even understand each other, but they all utilized the very same AI tool to create their reactions," he said.


He noted that this pattern is prevalent among both undergraduate and wiki.vst.hs-furtwangen.de postgraduate trainees but is particularly concerning in part-time and distance learning programs.


"AI is a serious obstacle when it pertains to assignments. Many trainees no longer believe critically-they simply browse the web, generate responses, and submit," he added.


Surprisingly, some lecturers are likewise implicated of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both teachers and students turn to AI for benefit instead of intellectual rigor.


This dispute raises important concerns about the function of AI in academic stability and trainee development.


According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million month-to-month active users in January 2023, just one nation had launched guidelines on generative AI as of July 2023.


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


Decline of academic rigor


University lecturers are increasingly concerned about students submitting AI-generated assignments without genuinely comprehending the content.


Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his concerns to Nairametrics about students progressively depending on ChatGPT, just to fight with addressing standard questions when checked.


"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit refined projects, however when asked basic concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating because education has to do with learning, not simply passing courses," he stated.


- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing number of first-class graduates can not be totally associated to AI however confessed that even high-performing trainees utilize these tools.


"A first-rate student is a first-rate trainee, AI or not, but that does not suggest they don't cheat. The advantages of AI may be peripheral, but it is making trainees dependent and less analytical," he said.


- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the very same practice.


"It's not simply students utilizing AI slackly. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course details, marking schemes, and even test questions with AI without examining them. Students in turn use AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine learning," he lamented.


Students' viewpoints on usage


Students, on the other hand, say AI has improved their learning experience by making scholastic materials more easy to understand and accessible.


- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has actually substantially helped her knowing by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of prolonged texts.


"AI assisted me understand things more quickly, particularly when dealing with complex subjects," she explained.


However, she recalled an instance when she utilized AI to submit her job, only for her lecturer to instantly recognize that it was produced by ChatGPT and mediawiki1263.00web.net decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad impact.


- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently graduated with a first-rate degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, securely thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his outstanding grades to actively interesting by asking questions and focusing on areas that lecturers emphasize in class, as they are often reflected in exam questions.


"It's all about existing, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared by my coworkers," he said,


- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to occasionally copying straight from ChatGPT when facing numerous deadlines.


"To be sincere, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have multiple deadlines, and I understand I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the lecturers don't get to review them, however AI has likewise assisted me find out quicker."


Balancing AI's role in education


Experts think the option lies in AI literacy; teaching students and lecturers how to utilize AI as a knowing aid instead of a shortcut.


- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the value of a well balanced technique that maintains human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance discovering results.


"As we browse the rapidly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is vital that we prioritise human firm in education. We must make sure that AI improves, instead of replaces, educators' important function in forming young minds," he stated


Concerns over AI in Learning


Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change professional, resolved growing concerns relating to making use of synthetic intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their potential dangers to the educational system.


- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, highlighted the need for caution in its usage.

- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance amongst teachers and schools towards including AI tools in learning environments. She recognized two main reasons that AI tools are prevented in academic settings: security threats and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based on user interactions, which might not line up with the expectations of educators.


"It is not taking a look at it as a tutor," Akintade said, describing that AI doesn't deal with particular teaching techniques.


Plagiarism is another issue, as AI pulls from existing information, often without appropriate attribution


"A great deal of individuals need 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 details that some other individuals are fed into it, which in essence suggests that is another person's documents," she cautioned.


- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI advancement called "hallucination," where AI tools would produce details that was not factual.


"Hallucination suggested that it was bringing out info from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that details from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.


She suggested "grounding" AI by offering it with specific info to avoid such errors.


Navigating AI in Education


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


- She thinks that regularly enhancing essential information assists people remember and prevent making errors when confronted with difficulties.


"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the exact 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 need to resolve the people and procedure aspects of this usage.


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


"Now, I primarily use tasks to make sure trainees supply original work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this method challenging.


"If you set intricate concerns, trainees will not have the ability to utilize AI to get direct answers," he discussed.


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


- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, transparency, chessdatabase.science responsibility, and personal privacy at its core.

- UNESCO in a report requires the guideline of AI in education, recommending institutions to audit algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they meet ethical requirements, secure user data, and filter unsuitable material.

- It stresses the requirement to evaluate the long-lasting effect of AI on vital skills like thinking and imagination while producing policies that align with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO recommends implementing age restrictions for GenAI use to secure younger trainees and protect vulnerable groups.
- For federal governments, it recommended adopting a coordinated nationwide technique to managing GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and aligning guidelines with existing data protection and personal privacy laws. It stresses assessing AI threats, imposing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and ensuring national information ownership.

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