Nigerian Students Turn to aI For Tests Answers, Lecturers Raise Alarm
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reinventing education while making discovering more available however likewise sparking disputes on its impact.
While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their learning experience, speakers are raising issues about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines academic stability, specifically with numerous students not able to safeguard their assignments or given works.
Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed frustration over the growing reliance on AI-generated actions among students stating a recent experience he had.
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"I provided an assignment to my MBA students, and out of over 100 students, about 40% sent the specific very same answers. These students did not even understand each other, however they all used the very same AI tool to create their reactions," he stated.
He noted that this pattern is widespread amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees but is particularly concerning in part-time and range learning programs.
"AI is a severe challenge when it comes to projects. Many trainees no longer believe critically-they just browse the web, generate responses, and send," he included.
Surprisingly, wiki.vifm.info some speakers are also accused 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 function of AI in scholastic integrity and student development.
According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million regular monthly active users in January 2023, only one country had actually launched regulations on generative AI as of July 2023.
Since December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people using the AI chatbot weekly and 1 billion messages sent every day worldwide.
Decline of scholastic rigor
University speakers are progressively concerned about trainees sending AI-generated tasks without truly understanding the material.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about students progressively relying on ChatGPT, just to struggle with addressing fundamental concerns when tested.
"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send sleek assignments, but when asked standard questions, they go blank. It's disappointing since education is about finding out, not just passing courses," he said.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu mentioned that the increasing variety of first-rate graduates can not be totally associated to AI but confessed that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A superior student is a superior student, AI or not, however that does not imply they don't cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, however it is making students reliant and less analytical," he said.
- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the 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 examination concerns with AI without reviewing them. Students in turn utilize AI to create answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine knowing," he lamented.
Students' perspectives on use
Students, on the other hand, say AI has actually enhanced their knowing experience by making scholastic materials more reasonable and available.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has significantly aided her knowing by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of lengthy texts.
"AI assisted me understand things more easily, especially when dealing with complex subjects," she discussed.
However, she recalled an instance when she used AI to send her task, just for her lecturer to immediately acknowledge that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad result.
- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a first-rate degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly believes that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively appealing by asking questions and focusing on areas that lecturers highlight in class, as they are often reflected in examination concerns.
"It's everything about being present, focusing, and using the wealth of understanding shared by my coworkers," he said,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to periodically copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with multiple due dates.
"To be sincere, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have numerous deadlines, and I understand I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the speakers don't get to check out them, however AI has actually also helped me find out quicker."
Balancing AI's function in education
Experts believe the service lies in AI literacy; mentor students and speakers how to utilize AI as a knowing aid rather than a shortcut.
- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the value of a balanced method that maintains human participation while utilizing AI to enhance discovering results.
"As we browse the rapidly progressing landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human firm in education. We must ensure that AI improves, instead of changes, teachers' essential role in shaping young minds," he said
Concerns over AI in Learning
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity change specialist, addressed growing issues concerning using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible threats to the academic system.
- She acknowledged the advantages of AI, however, highlighted the requirement for in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance amongst educators and schools towards integrating AI tools in learning environments. She determined 2 primary reasons AI tools are dissuaded in academic settings: security risks and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based on user interactions, which may not line up with the expectations of educators.
"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, describing that AI does not cater to particular mentor rocksoff.org approaches.
Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing information, often without appropriate attribution
"A great deal of people need to understand, like I said, this is information 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 indicates that is another person's documentation," she warned.
- Additionally, forum.altaycoins.com Akintade highlighted an early concern in AI advancement called "hallucination," where AI tools would generate details that was not factual.
"Hallucination implied that it was drawing out info from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she described.
She recommended "grounding" AI by providing it with specific details to prevent such errors.
Navigating AI in Education
Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the option, especially when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog conventional instructional approaches.
- She thinks that consistently strengthening crucial information assists individuals keep in mind and avoid making errors when faced with challenges.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell individuals the same thing over and over once again, when they will make the mistakes, then they'll keep in mind."
She also empasized the need for clear policies and procedures within schools, keeping in mind that many schools should deal with the people and procedure aspects of this use.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually turned to in-class tasks and tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I generally utilize assignments to ensure trainees provide initial work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this method difficult.
"If you set complex concerns, trainees will not have the ability to use AI to get direct answers," he discussed.
He highlighted the need for universities to train speakers on crafting test 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 lecturers are analogue," he said.
- Nigeria launched a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI development with fairness, openness, accountability, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the regulation of AI in education, advising institutions to examine algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they meet ethical requirements, protect user data, and filter improper material.
- It worries the need to assess the long-lasting effect of AI on important abilities like thinking and imagination while creating policies that align with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO suggests implementing age limitations for GenAI use to protect more youthful students and secure vulnerable groups.
- For federal governments, it advised adopting a coordinated national technique to regulating GenAI, including establishing oversight bodies and lining up policies with existing information defense and personal privacy laws. It emphasizes assessing AI threats, enforcing more stringent rules for high-risk applications, and making sure national information ownership.