Nigerian Students Turn To AI For Tests Answers Lecturers Raise Alarm

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reinventing education while making finding out more accessible but likewise sparking disputes on its effect.


While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for improving their learning experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic stability, especially with many students unable to safeguard their assignments or given works.


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


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


He noted that this trend prevails among both undergraduate and asystechnik.com postgraduate trainees however is especially worrying in part-time and distance knowing programs.


"AI is a major obstacle when it concerns assignments. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply go online, generate answers, and send," he added.


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


This argument raises crucial concerns about the role of AI in academic stability and student advancement.


According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January 2023, only one nation had actually released guidelines on generative AI since July 2023.


Since December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million individuals utilizing the AI chatbot weekly and 1 billion messages sent out every day worldwide.


Decline of scholastic rigor


University lecturers are significantly concerned about students sending AI-generated tasks without genuinely comprehending the material.


Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees progressively depending on ChatGPT, only to have a hard time with responding to fundamental concerns when evaluated.


"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send sleek projects, but 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 number of top-notch graduates can not be totally attributed to AI however admitted that even high-performing trainees use these tools.


"A first-rate trainee is a top-notch trainee, AI or not, but that does not mean they don't cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, however it is making students dependent and less analytical," he said.


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


"It's not just students utilizing AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course details, marking plans, and even exam questions with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn use AI to create answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine learning," he regreted.


Students' point of views on use


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


- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has actually considerably helped her knowing by breaking down complex terms and providing summaries of lengthy texts.


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


However, she recalled a circumstances when she utilized AI to send her project, only for her speaker to right away acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad effect.


- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a first-class degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, firmly believes that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his outstanding grades to actively appealing by asking questions and focusing on locations that lecturers highlight in class, as they are typically shown in exam questions.


"It's all about existing, taking note, and using the wealth of understanding shared by my associates," he stated,


- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, confesses to periodically copying straight from ChatGPT when dealing with multiple deadlines.


"To be honest, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have numerous deadlines, and I understand I'm guilty of that, most times the lecturers do not get to check out them, however AI has actually also assisted me find out quicker."


Balancing AI's function in education


Experts think the solution depends on AI literacy; mentor students and lecturers how to utilize AI as a learning help rather than a shortcut.


- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, akropolistravel.com stressing the importance of a balanced approach that maintains human participation while utilizing AI to enhance learning results.


"As we navigate the quickly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is vital that we prioritise human agency in education. We need to make sure that AI boosts, rather than changes, teachers' vital function in forming young minds," he said


Concerns over AI in Learning


Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity transformation specialist, resolved growing concerns concerning using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective risks to the academic system.


- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, nevertheless, stressed the requirement for care in its usage.

- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst teachers and schools toward integrating AI tools in finding out environments. She identified 2 primary reasons AI tools are prevented in academic settings: security risks and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to respond based upon 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, explaining that AI does not deal with specific teaching approaches.


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


"A great deal of individuals need to comprehend, like I said, this is data that has actually 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 documentation," she warned.


- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early problem in AI development known as "hallucination," where AI tools would produce info that was not factual.


"Hallucination implied that it was drawing out details from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she described.


She suggested "grounding" AI by offering it with particular details to avoid such mistakes.


AI in Education


Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the solution, especially when AI provides a chance to leapfrog conventional educational techniques.


- She thinks that regularly reinforcing crucial details helps individuals keep in mind and prevent making errors when faced with challenges.


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


She likewise empasized the need for clear policies and treatments within schools, keeping in mind that lots of schools need to resolve the people and process elements of this use.


- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has resorted to in-class tasks and tests to counter AI-driven scholastic dishonesty.


"Now, I mainly use tasks to guarantee trainees offer initial work." However, securityholes.science he acknowledged that handling large classes makes this method tough.


"If you set intricate questions, trainees won't be able to utilize AI to get direct answers," he discussed.


He highlighted the need for universities to train lecturers on crafting examination questions that AI can not quickly solve while acknowledging that some speakers battle to counter AI misuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some speakers are analogue," he said.


- Nigeria launched 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 requires the guideline of AI in education, encouraging organizations to examine algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they fulfill ethical standards, safeguard user information, and filter improper material.

- It stresses the need to examine the long-lasting impact of AI on crucial abilities like thinking and creativity while developing policies that line up with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO recommends executing age constraints for GenAI use to protect more youthful students and secure susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it recommended adopting a coordinated national method to managing GenAI, consisting of developing oversight bodies and aligning policies with existing information protection and personal privacy laws. It emphasizes assessing AI risks, imposing stricter guidelines for high-risk applications, and ensuring national data ownership.