Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming education while making finding out more accessible however likewise stimulating 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 weakens scholastic integrity, especially with lots of students not able to safeguard their assignments or trademarketclassifieds.com given works.

Prof. Isaac Nwaogwugwu, a lecturer at the University of Lagos, in an interview with Nairametrics, revealed disappointment over the growing dependence on AI-generated reactions among trainees stating a recent 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 precise very same answers. These students did not even know each other, but they all used the very same AI tool to generate their responses," he stated.

He noted that this trend is widespread among both undergraduate and postgraduate trainees however is particularly worrying in part-time and range knowing programs.

"AI is a major difficulty when it comes to assignments. Many students no longer think critically-they simply browse the web, generate answers, and send," he included.

Surprisingly, some speakers are also accused 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 critical questions about the role of AI in academic stability and student development.

According to a UNESCO report, while ChatGPT reached 100 million regular monthly active users in January 2023, only one nation had released guidelines on generative AI as of July 2023.

As of December 2024, ChatGPT had over 300 million individuals utilizing the AI chatbot every week and 1 billion messages sent every day around the world.

Decline of academic rigor

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

Dr. Felix Echekoba, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, revealed his concerns to Nairametrics about trainees significantly relying on ChatGPT, only to have problem with responding to basic concerns when tested.

"Many trainees copy from ChatGPT and send sleek tasks, however when asked basic questions, they go blank. It's frustrating because education has to do with learning, not just passing courses," he stated.

- Prof. Nwaogwugwu explained that the increasing number of first-rate graduates can not be entirely attributed to AI however admitted that even high-performing students use these tools.


"A first-class student is a first-class student, AI or not, but that does not mean they do not cheat. The benefits of AI might be peripheral, however it is making trainees dependent and less analytical," he said.

- Another lecturer, smfsimple.com Dr. Ereke, from Ebonyi State University, raised a various concern that some lecturers themselves are guilty of the very 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 utilize AI to create answers. It's a cycle of laziness and it is eliminating genuine knowing," he regreted.

Students' point of views on use

Students, on the other hand, state AI has actually enhanced their knowing experience by making academic products more reasonable and accessible.

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


"AI assisted me understand things more easily, especially when dealing with complex topics," she explained.

However, she remembered a circumstances when she utilized AI to submit her project, just for her lecturer to instantly acknowledge that it was produced by ChatGPT and decline it. Eniola kept in mind that it was a good-bad effect.

- Bryan Okwuba, who recently finished with a first-rate degree in Pharmacy Technology from the University of Lagos, strongly thinks that his academic success wasn't due to any AI tool. He associates his impressive grades to actively engaging by asking concerns and concentrating on locations that lecturers highlight in class, as they are typically reflected in examination questions.


"It's all about existing, taking note, and tapping into the wealth of understanding shared by my coworkers," he said,

- Tunde Awoshita, a final-year marketing student at UNIZIK, confesses to periodically copying straight from ChatGPT when dealing with multiple due dates.


"To be truthful, there are times I copy directly from ChatGPT when I have several due dates, and I know I'm guilty of that, a lot of times the lecturers don't get to review them, however AI has actually also assisted me find out quicker."

Balancing AI's function in education

Experts think the option depends on AI literacy; teaching trainees and lecturers how to use AI as a knowing help rather than a shortcut.

- Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, highlighted the combination of AI into Nigeria's education system, worrying the significance of a well balanced technique that preserves human involvement while utilizing AI to improve finding out results.


"As we navigate the rapidly developing landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is vital that we prioritise human company in education. We must guarantee that AI boosts, rather than changes, educators' vital role in forming young minds," he said

Concerns over AI in Learning

Dorcas Akintade, a cybersecurity improvement professional, attended to growing concerns concerning using artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and their prospective dangers to the educational system.

- She acknowledged the benefits of AI, nevertheless, highlighted the requirement for caution in its use.

- Akintade highlighted the increasing resistance amongst teachers and schools toward including AI tools in discovering environments. She determined 2 main reasons that AI tools are dissuaded in academic settings: security threats and plagiarism. She described that AI tools like ChatGPT are trained to react based on user interactions, which might not line up with the expectations of educators.


"It is not looking at it as a tutor," Akintade said, explaining that AI doesn't cater to specific mentor techniques.

Plagiarism is another issue, as AI pulls from existing data, typically without appropriate attribution

"A lot of people need to comprehend, like I stated, this is data that has been trained on. It is not simply bringing things out from the sky. It's bringing info that some other people are fed into it, which in essence means that is another person's paperwork," she cautioned.

- Additionally, Akintade highlighted an early concern in AI advancement called "hallucination," where AI tools would create details that was not factual.


"Hallucination indicated that it was drawing out information from the air. If ChatGPT might not get that details from you, it was going to make one up," she discussed.

She advised "grounding" AI by offering it with specific info to prevent such mistakes.

Navigating AI in Education

Akintade argued that prohibiting AI tools outright is not the service, especially when AI presents a chance to leapfrog traditional academic techniques.

- She thinks that consistently enhancing essential details assists people remember and prevent making errors when confronted with difficulties.


"Immersion brings conversion. When you inform individuals the very same thing over and over once again, when they are about to make the errors, then they'll remember."

She also empasized the requirement for clear policies and procedures within schools, noting that many schools need to resolve the individuals and process elements of this use.

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


"Now, I primarily utilize tasks to make sure trainees supply initial work." However, he acknowledged that handling big classes makes this method challenging.

"If you set complicated questions, students won't be able to use AI to get direct answers," he explained.

He stressed the requirement for universities to train lecturers on crafting examination questions that AI can not easily resolve while acknowledging that some lecturers battle 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, concentrating on ethical AI development with fairness, openness, responsibility, and privacy at its core.

- UNESCO in a report requires the guideline of AI in education, recommending institutions to audit algorithms, data, and outputs of generative AI tools to ensure they meet ethical requirements, safeguard user data, and filter improper content.

- It stresses the need to examine the long-term effect of AI on vital skills like believing and imagination while developing policies that line up with ethical frameworks. Additionally, UNESCO suggests carrying out age constraints for GenAI usage to safeguard younger trainees and protect susceptible groups.
- For federal governments, it recommended embracing a coordinated nationwide approach to controling GenAI, including establishing oversight bodies and lining up policies with existing information defense and privacy laws. It stresses examining AI dangers, enforcing stricter rules for high-risk applications, and guaranteeing nationwide data ownership.