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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 accessible however likewise sparking debates on its effect.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their learning experience, lecturers are raising issues about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic integrity, specifically with lots of students unable to safeguard their projects or offered works.

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

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"I gave an assignment to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% submitted the precise very same responses. These trainees did not even know each other, however they all used the very same AI tool to create their actions," he said.

He kept in mind that this trend is common among both undergraduate and postgraduate students but is especially concerning in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a major difficulty when it concerns projects. Many trainees no longer believe critically-they simply browse the web, generate answers, and submit," he added.

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

This debate raises critical questions about the function of AI in scholastic integrity and trainee development.

According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million month-to-month active users in January 2023, only one nation had launched regulations on generative AI since July 2023.

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

Decline of scholastic rigor

University lecturers are progressively concerned about trainees submitting AI -generated tasks without genuinely understanding the material.

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a speaker at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his issues to Nairametrics about trainees increasingly counting on ChatGPT, only to fight with answering basic concerns when checked.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and submit sleek projects, but when asked fundamental concerns, they go blank. It's frustrating due to the fact that education is about discovering, not simply passing courses," he said.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of first-class graduates can not be completely attributed to AI however admitted that even high-performing trainees utilize these tools.
"A first-rate trainee is a first-rate student, AI or not, but that does not imply they don't cheat. The benefits of AI might be peripheral, however it is making trainees dependent and less analytical," he stated.

- Another speaker, Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various issue that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not just trainees using AI lazily. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, generate lesson notes, course lays out, marking plans, and even exam questions with AI without evaluating them. Students in turn utilize AI to generate responses. It's a cycle of laziness and it is killing real learning," he regreted.

Students' viewpoints on usage

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

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration trainee at Unilag, bphomesteading.com shared how AI has significantly aided her learning by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI helped me comprehend things more quickly, particularly when dealing with intricate subjects," she described.

However, she recalled an instance when she used AI to submit her job, just for her speaker to right away recognize that it was created by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola noted that it was a good-bad impact.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a first-rate degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, firmly thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his exceptional grades to actively interesting by asking concerns and focusing on locations that speakers emphasize in class, as they are typically shown in exam questions.
"It's everything about being present, taking note, and taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge shared by my associates," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, confesses to sometimes copying straight from ChatGPT when dealing with several due dates.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have multiple deadlines, and I know I'm guilty of that, the majority of times the speakers do not get to check out them, however AI has actually likewise helped me find out faster."

Balancing AI's role in education

Experts think the option lies in AI literacy