Nigerian Students Turn to aI For Tests Answers, Lecturers Raise Alarm
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing education while making discovering more available but likewise triggering arguments on its effect.
While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their learning experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens academic stability, specifically with many students not able to protect their tasks or offered works.
Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a speaker at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed disappointment over the growing reliance on AI-generated reactions among trainees stating a current experience he had.
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"I offered a task to my MBA students, and out of over 100 students, about 40% sent the precise same responses. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all used the same AI tool to create their reactions," he stated.
He kept in mind that this pattern prevails amongst both undergraduate and postgraduate students however is specifically concerning in part-time and distance learning programs.
"AI is a severe difficulty when it comes to assignments. Many students no longer believe critically-they simply browse the web, generate answers, and submit," he included.
Surprisingly, some speakers are likewise implicated of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and students turn to AI for convenience instead of intellectual rigor.
This argument raises vital concerns about the role of AI in academic integrity and trainee 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.
As of December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people utilizing the AI chatbot every week and 1 billion messages sent out every day around the world.
Decline of academic rigor
University lecturers are significantly worried about students sending AI-generated assignments without genuinely understanding the material.
Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, expressed his issues to Nairametrics about trainees increasingly counting on ChatGPT, only to battle with responding to basic questions when checked.
"Many students copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek tasks, but when asked fundamental concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating because education has to do with finding out, not simply passing courses," he stated.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing number of first-class graduates can not be totally credited to AI however confessed that even high-performing trainees use these tools.
"A first-class student is a top-notch student, AI or not, however that doesn't indicate they do not cheat. The benefits of AI may be peripheral, however it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he stated.
- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the exact same practice.
"It's not just trainees using AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course describes, marking schemes, and even examination questions with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn use AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real learning," he regreted.
Students' point of views on use
Students, hikvisiondb.webcam on the other hand, say AI has enhanced their knowing experience by making academic products more understandable and accessible.
- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, shared how AI has substantially aided her knowing by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI helped me understand things more quickly, particularly when handling complicated topics," she discussed.
However, lovewiki.faith she recalled an instance when she used AI to send her job, just for ratemywifey.com her speaker to instantly recognize that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad impact.
- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a top-notch degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, securely thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his exceptional grades to actively appealing by asking questions and focusing on areas that speakers highlight in class, as they are frequently shown in test questions.
"It's everything about being present, taking note, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared by my colleagues," he said,
- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to periodically copying straight from ChatGPT when facing multiple deadlines.
"To be honest, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple deadlines, and I know I'm guilty of that, most times the lecturers do not get to read through them, but AI has actually also helped me learn faster."
Balancing AI's function in education
Experts believe the solution depends on AI literacy; teaching students and speakers how to use AI as a knowing help rather than a faster way.
- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the integration of AI into Nigeria's education system, stressing the importance of a balanced approach that maintains human involvement while harnessing AI to enhance discovering results.
"As we browse the rapidly progressing landscape of Expert system (AI), it is crucial that we prioritise human agency in education. We should make sure that AI enhances, rather than replaces, teachers' crucial function in shaping young minds," he said
Concerns over AI in Learning
Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement specialist, resolved growing concerns relating to the usage of expert system (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their possible risks to the educational system.
- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, highlighted the need for care in its use.
- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst educators and schools toward incorporating AI tools in discovering environments. She determined 2 primary reasons that AI tools are dissuaded in academic settings: security dangers 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 deal with specific mentor methods.
Plagiarism is another concern, as AI pulls from existing information, often without appropriate attribution
"A lot of people need to understand, like I stated, this is information that has been trained on. It is not just bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing info that some other people are fed into it, which in essence implies that is another individual's documents," she cautioned.
- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early issue in AI advancement called "hallucination," where AI tools would generate details that was not accurate.
"Hallucination implied that it was highlighting details from the air. If ChatGPT could not get that information from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.
She advised "grounding" AI by providing it with specific details to prevent such errors.
Navigating AI in Education
Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the option, especially when AI presents a chance to leapfrog conventional instructional methods.
- She believes that regularly strengthening essential info assists people keep in mind and prevent making mistakes when confronted with difficulties.
"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell people the very same thing over and over again, when they will make the errors, then they'll keep in mind."
She also empasized the requirement for clear policies and procedures within schools, keeping in mind that many schools need to attend to individuals and process elements of this use.
- Prof. Nwaogwugwu has actually resorted to in-class projects and yewiki.org tests to counter AI-driven academic dishonesty.
"Now, I mainly utilize assignments to make sure trainees supply initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this approach tough.
"If you set complicated questions, trainees won't be able to use AI to get direct answers," he described.
He emphasized the need for universities to train speakers on crafting examination questions that AI can not quickly fix while acknowledging that some lecturers struggle to counter AI abuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he said.
- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, focusing on ethical AI development with fairness, openness, cadizpedia.wikanda.es accountability, and personal privacy at its core.
- UNESCO in a report calls for the regulation of AI in education, recommending organizations to investigate algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they satisfy ethical requirements, safeguard user data, and filter improper content.
- It stresses the need to assess the long-term effect of AI on critical abilities like thinking and imagination while developing policies that align with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO suggests carrying out age limitations for GenAI use to secure more youthful students and secure vulnerable groups.
- For federal governments, it advised embracing a coordinated nationwide method to managing GenAI, including developing oversight bodies and lining up policies with existing information security and personal privacy laws. It emphasizes evaluating AI risks, demo.qkseo.in implementing more stringent guidelines for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing nationwide information ownership.