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

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing education while making finding out more accessible however also triggering debates on its impact.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reinventing education while making learning more available but likewise sparking arguments on its effect.


While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for passfun.awardspace.us improving their knowing experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and bbarlock.com undermines academic integrity, particularly with many trainees not able to safeguard 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 responses amongst trainees stating a recent experience he had.


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


He kept in mind that this pattern is widespread among both undergraduate and postgraduate students however is specifically worrying in part-time and distance knowing programs.


"AI is a serious obstacle when it comes to assignments. Many trainees no longer think critically-they simply go online, create responses, and send," 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 rather than intellectual rigor.


This dispute raises crucial questions about the role of AI in scholastic stability and student advancement.


According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million monthly active users in January 2023, just one country had launched guidelines on generative AI since July 2023.


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


Decline of academic rigor


University lecturers are increasingly concerned about trainees submitting AI-generated projects without truly comprehending the content.


Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees increasingly depending on ChatGPT, only to deal with answering basic concerns when checked.


"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit refined projects, however when asked standard concerns, they go blank. It's disappointing since education is about learning, not just passing courses," he said.


- Prof. Nwaogwugwu mentioned that the increasing variety of superior graduates can not be entirely credited to AI but admitted that even high-performing trainees use these tools.


"A first-rate trainee is a first-class trainee, AI or not, however that doesn't imply they don't cheat. The advantages of AI might be peripheral, however it is making trainees dependent and less analytical," he said.


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


"It's not simply trainees utilizing AI lazily. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, create lesson notes, course lays out, marking schemes, and even test questions with AI without examining them. Students in turn use AI to create answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real knowing," he regreted.


Students' viewpoints on use


Students, on the other hand, state AI has actually improved their knowing experience by making scholastic products more understandable and accessible.


- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has significantly aided her learning by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of prolonged texts.


"AI assisted me comprehend things more quickly, particularly when handling intricate subjects," she explained.


However, she remembered a circumstances when she utilized AI to submit her project, just for her lecturer to right away recognize that it was produced by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad result.


- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a top-notch degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, firmly believes that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his exceptional grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and concentrating on areas that lecturers highlight in class, as they are frequently shown in exam questions.


"It's everything about being present, paying attention, and taking advantage of the wealth of understanding shared by my colleagues," he stated,


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


"To be honest, there are times I copy straight from ChatGPT when I have several deadlines, and I understand I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the speakers don't get to read through them, but AI has actually also helped me learn faster."


Balancing AI's function in education


Experts think the option lies in AI literacy; teaching students and speakers how to use AI as a knowing help instead of a shortcut.


- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the importance of a well balanced method that maintains human participation while utilizing AI to enhance discovering outcomes.


"As we navigate the quickly evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is essential that we prioritise human company in education. We need to ensure that AI boosts, instead of replaces, educators' essential function in shaping young minds," he stated


Concerns over AI in Learning


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


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

- Akintade highlighted the increasing hesitance among educators and schools toward integrating AI tools in learning environments. She determined 2 main reasons AI tools are prevented in educational settings: security threats and plagiarism. She discussed that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based upon user interactions, which may not align with the expectations of teachers.


"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade stated, describing that AI does not accommodate specific mentor techniques.


Plagiarism is another problem, as AI pulls from existing data, wavedream.wiki frequently without appropriate attribution


"A lot of people require to comprehend, like I said, this is data that has been trained on. It is not just bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing information that some other individuals are fed into it, which in essence means that is another individual's documentation," she cautioned.


- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early concern in AI advancement known as "hallucination," where AI tools would generate info that was not accurate.


"Hallucination indicated 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 discussed.


She recommended "grounding" AI by providing it with particular information to avoid such mistakes.


Navigating AI in Education


Akintade argued that banning AI tools outright is not the solution, accc.rcec.sinica.edu.tw especially when AI presents an opportunity to leapfrog conventional educational techniques.


- She believes that consistently strengthening key information helps individuals keep in mind and avoid making errors when faced with difficulties.


"Immersion brings conversion. When you tell people the same thing over and over again, when they will make the errors, then they'll keep in mind."


She likewise empasized the need for clear policies and procedures within schools, keeping in mind that numerous schools need to deal with the individuals and procedure aspects of this usage.


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


"Now, I primarily use projects to ensure trainees offer initial work." However, he acknowledged that managing big classes makes this method difficult.


"If you set intricate questions, trainees won't be able to use AI to get direct responses," he explained.


He stressed the need for universities to train lecturers on crafting test questions that AI can not easily fix while acknowledging that some speakers struggle to counter AI misuse due to an absence of technological awareness. "Some lecturers are analogue," he said.


- Nigeria released a draft National AI Strategy in August 2024, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, galgbtqhistoryproject.org openness, accountability, and privacy at its core.

- UNESCO in a report requires the guideline of AI in education, recommending organizations to investigate algorithms, information, and outputs of generative AI tools to guarantee they satisfy ethical standards, secure user information, and filter unsuitable content.

- It stresses the need to assess the long-lasting impact of AI on vital abilities like believing and creativity while producing policies that line up with ethical structures. Additionally, UNESCO recommends carrying out age constraints for GenAI usage to secure more youthful students and protect vulnerable groups.
- For governments, trademarketclassifieds.com it recommended adopting a coordinated national approach to managing GenAI, consisting of establishing oversight bodies and lining up regulations with existing information protection and personal privacy laws. It emphasizes assessing AI threats, enforcing more stringent rules for high-risk applications, and making sure nationwide data ownership.

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