By Olukayode Babalola
Prof. Daniel Denga, Department of Counseling and Human Development, Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK) has warned university students across Nigeria that overdependence on Artificial intelligence will lead to academic failure.
He made this known at the Department of Guidance and Counseling, Faculty of Education 2 days public lecture and faculty based interactive session held at the university in Keffi local government area of Nasarawa state on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the lecture delivered by Denga is “Students’ poor academic performance in Nigerian universities: Reasons and possible interventions”.
According to Denga, while AI offers educational support, it must not be allowed to inadvertently replace lectures because for students to excel they need genuine access and active learning which according to him employs originality and critical thinking provided in the learning system.
“Cognitive disengagement may lead students to a severe lack of retention. A completion of tasks via AI may lead to learning illusion and plunge our students into seemingly excellent production which they cannot explain.
“This fantastic innovation which threatens to replace mankind with originality cannot be stopped easily. But students must attend lectures to learn properly and pass genuinely,” he said.
He reiterated that artificial intelligence is good in helping students educationally but overdependence fosters laziness, a lack of effort, a lack of originality, little thinking and little creativity which students need a full dose from their lecturers.
“To stay away from lectures is to delve into competency illusion. Students cannot explain what AI has shown them. It is difficult to stop the influence of AI on learning but students must use the tool in a subsidiary way,” he added.
Denga listed other reasons for academic failure to include total dependence on a course mate, late resumption from vacation, irregular lecture attendance, mental health derangement among others.
“Many students appear to be ignorant of the fact that poor lecture attendance is one of the major causes of academic failure. They cheat about it by arranging with their friends to write their names on the attendance list as if they were present.
“For mental health derangement, the Nigerian society has been flooded with drugs, examination malpractice, hardship, moral decadence, poverty, disobedience and other vices that have deranged the metal set up with problems that border on emotional leprosy.
“These adverse conditions militate against learning. Children’s concentration is no longer on learning but on how to survive in a polluted environment. Personal-social counselling handles this aspect of the students to help them learn well,” he said.
He then urged lecturers to identify and isolate students who are on the edge of a “failure cliff” to give them extra tutorials and the best methodologies to help them catch up with at least average students.
In her address, Prof. Sa’adatu Liman, Vice Chancellor of the university represented by Prof. Makwin Makut, Acting Vice Chancellor of the university said students’ poor performance is not a single problem but a symptom of multiple intersecting issues.
“If we must find lasting solutions we must be sincere in our diagnosis. For us as a university system, we must look inward: overcrowded lecture halls, outdated teaching methods, inadequate mentorship, weak continuous assessment and sometimes a disconnect between what we teach and the realities our students face,” she said.
Liman noted that the public lecture and interactive session is not designed to condemn students but to understand them and to reposition guidance and counselling as a central pillar of student success.
She then assured that the university under her leadership remains committed to reversing the trend through strengthening academic advising and mentorship at departmental level.
“We are also committed to empowering the guidance and counselling centre to be more proactive, not just reactive. We will also improve our pedagogy to be more learner-centred and skills-based and enforce discipline and academic standards with fairness and empathy,” she added.
In an interview, Prof. Tunde Oke, Head of Department, Guidance and Counseling said the topic was chosen after management of the university observed that students were failing in their academics.
“However, in counselling we are not focused on what has gone wrong. Our role is to proffer solutions. Our role is to provide therapy. Our role is to make necessary intervention so as to improve on the things we have identified.
“In this case it is not only in our university. We have noticed that it is all tertiary institutions the academic performance of our students declined.
“So our goal to ensure the students know the purpose of which they have come to school and be more focus in their academics and by that their academic performance will improve,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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