1 Nigerian Students Turn to aI For Tests Answers, Lecturers Raise Alarm
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Expert System (AI) is revolutionizing education while making finding out more available however likewise triggering debates on its impact.

While trainees hail AI tools like ChatGPT for enhancing their learning experience, lecturers are raising concerns about the growing reliance on AI, which they argue fosters laziness and undermines scholastic stability, specifically with many students unable to defend their assignments or provided works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed frustration over the growing reliance on AI-generated responses amongst students recounting a current experience he had.

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"I provided a project to my MBA trainees, and out of over 100 trainees, about 40% sent the specific very same answers. These trainees did not even understand each other, but they all used the very same AI tool to create their responses," he stated.

He noted that this trend prevails among both and postgraduate trainees but is especially worrying in part-time and distance learning programs.

"AI is a serious challenge when it pertains to assignments. Many students no longer think critically-they simply browse the web, produce responses, and submit," he added.

Surprisingly, some speakers are likewise implicated of over-relying on AI, setting a cycle where both teachers and students turn to AI for convenience rather than intellectual rigor.

This dispute raises vital questions about the role of AI in scholastic integrity and trainee advancement.

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

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

Decline of academic rigor

University lecturers are increasingly worried about students submitting AI-generated projects without really understanding the content.

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

"Many students copy from ChatGPT and send refined tasks, but when asked fundamental questions, they go blank. It's disappointing since education is about learning, not just passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu pointed out that the increasing variety of top-notch graduates can not be totally credited to AI however confessed that even high-performing trainees utilize these tools.
"A superior student is a first-rate trainee, AI or not, but that does not mean they do not cheat. The benefits of AI might be peripheral, however it is making trainees reliant and less analytical," he stated.

- Another lecturer, Dr. Ereke, forum.pinoo.com.tr from Ebonyi State University, raised a various concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the same practice.
"It's not simply students using AI slackly. Some lecturers, out of their own laziness, produce lesson notes, course describes, marking plans, and even exam questions with AI without examining them. Students in turn use AI to generate answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating real learning," he lamented.

Students' viewpoints on usage

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

- Eniola Arowosafe, a 300-level Business Administration student at Unilag, shared how AI has actually substantially helped her knowing by breaking down complex terms and offering summaries of prolonged texts.
"AI assisted me comprehend things more quickly, specifically when dealing with complex topics," she described.

However, she recalled an instance when she utilized AI to submit her project, just for her lecturer to instantly recognize that it was produced by ChatGPT and pl.velo.wiki reject it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad result.

- Bryan Okwuba, who just recently graduated with a first-rate degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his scholastic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He attributes his impressive grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and concentrating on areas that lecturers highlight in class, as they are often shown in test concerns.
"It's everything about being present, focusing, and taking advantage of the wealth of understanding shared by my coworkers," he stated,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing trainee at UNIZIK, admits to occasionally copying directly from ChatGPT when dealing with several deadlines.
"To be truthful, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have several due dates, and I understand I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the speakers do not get to review them, but AI has also assisted me discover quicker."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts believe the solution depends on AI literacy