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

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing education while making finding out more available but also stimulating arguments on its impact.

While students hail AI tools like ChatGPT for boosting their knowing experience, speakers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and weakens scholastic stability, specifically with many trainees not able to safeguard their projects or provided works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, expressed frustration over the growing dependence on AI -generated reactions among students stating a recent experience he had.

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"I offered a task to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the precise very same answers. These trainees did not even understand each other, however they all utilized the very same AI tool to produce their reactions," he stated.

He kept in mind that this pattern is widespread among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is specifically concerning in part-time and range learning programs.

"AI is a serious obstacle when it comes to assignments. Many students no longer think critically-they just go online, generate answers, and send," he added.

Surprisingly, some lecturers are likewise accused of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both educators and trainees turn to AI for convenience rather than intellectual rigor.

This debate raises important questions about the function of AI in scholastic stability and trainee advancement.

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

As of December 2024, ChatGPT had more than 300 million people utilizing the AI chatbot weekly and 1 billion messages sent every day all over the world.

Decline of scholastic rigor

University speakers are progressively worried about students sending AI-generated tasks without really understanding the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about trainees significantly relying on ChatGPT, just to have a hard time with addressing fundamental questions when evaluated.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek assignments, however when asked basic concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating since education is about learning, not just passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of superior graduates can not be completely associated to AI however admitted that even high-performing students use these tools.
"A first-class student is a top-notch student, AI or not, however that does not indicate they do not cheat. The advantages of AI may be peripheral, however it is making students dependent and less analytical," he stated.

- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a different issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not just students utilizing AI lazily. Some speakers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course details, marking plans, and even test concerns with AI without examining them. Students in turn use AI to create answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine knowing," he lamented.

Students' point of views on usage

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

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has actually significantly assisted her learning by breaking down complex terms and supplying summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me comprehend things more easily, specifically when dealing with complicated subjects," she discussed.

However, she recalled an instance when she utilized AI to submit her task, shiapedia.1god.org only for her speaker to instantly acknowledge that it was generated by ChatGPT and reject it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad impact.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently graduated with a superior degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, securely believes that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively interesting by asking concerns and focusing on locations that lecturers highlight in class, as they are often reflected in test questions.
"It's everything about being present, focusing, and tapping into the wealth of knowledge shared by my associates," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, admits to sometimes copying straight from ChatGPT when facing numerous deadlines.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple deadlines, and I understand I'm guilty of that, many times the lecturers don't get to read through them, however AI has actually likewise helped me discover faster."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts believe the solution depends on AI literacy