Influence of artificial intelligence on educational performance of Nigerian students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria

Abstract

This research was conducted using a survey research method to investigate the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Nigerian students' academic performances in tertiary institutions. Nigerian tertiary institutions have an estimated population of about 2.5 million students across the universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, and colleges of education. A sample size of 509 was used. The researchers adopted an online questionnaire (Google Form) to administer questions to respondents across Nigeria to elicit responses from the respondents bordering on their awareness and the use of AI and its attendant impacts on their academic performance. Five research objectives were raised for the proper investigation of this study. From the findings of the study, the researchers found that the majority of Nigerian students use AI and that AI has positive impacts on the educational performance of Nigerian students. It was also found that Nigerian students have training on the use of AI for educational purposes and that they are more familiar with Snapchat AI and ChatGPT. Conclusively, AI is useful to students in the sense that it enhances their knowledge of their courses, improves their learning and speaking skills, and helps them to have a quick understanding of their course by way of simplifying technical aspects of their courses. The researchers therefore recommend as follows: Nigerian tertiary institutions should formally train students as well as teachers on the use of AI for academic purposes so that they can understand the ethical implications of the use of AI. Using AI for writing could be interpreted to mean examination malpractice, and this should not be condoned in the educational sector; however, at the moment, a small number of students used AI for examinations. Albeit, the appropriate use of AI should be fully integrated into Nigerian tertiary institutions' curricula.