A non-governmental organisation, Wholesome Character, has called for policy formulation and teacher training to address the rising threats posed by artificial intelligence to examination integrity in secondary schools.
The call was made at a forum themed ‘Exam Integrity, Ethics, Policy and Future Readiness’ held recently in Lagos, which brought together students, teachers, technocrats, regulators, and other education stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, the Founder of Wholesome Character, Ifedayo Adeoba, highlighted how AI tools are increasingly being misused to circumvent examination rules.
“There were key things that we wanted to address with this programme. Number one, we were looking at the issue of exam integrity because so many people have used AI to circumvent the integrity of examinations,” she said.
Adeoba voiced concern over the digital divide, noting that unequal access to technology risks widening the disparity between students from affluent backgrounds and those in low-income communities.
“If AI becomes a tool only for children whose parents can afford it, what could have been our greatest equaliser will become our greatest divider,” she warned.
“One child left out of the future for lack of access. Another carried into it without learning to think, for lack of structure. Two different gaps, the same failure,” she added.
She emphasised the need to bridge this gap without compromising critical thinking skills. “Our task is to make sure that no child in Nigeria can ever say that the school they attended held back their future. If we fail either child, we fail Nigeria,” Adeoba stated.
The founder also warned against student overdependence on AI tools, advocating for alternative assessment methods to evaluate genuine understanding. She stressed that technical surveillance alone cannot safeguard academic integrity.
“Examinations are a nation’s promise that a certificate means what it says,” Adeoba noted, referencing the 167,486 candidates whose results were withheld by the West African Examinations Council in 2026 due to examination malpractice.
“And now a new threat has entered the hall. A phone that once carried a leaked question can now carry a machine that answers any question in seconds,” she added.
Advising students to prioritise critical thinking over automated assistance, Adeoba urged them to preserve their analytical capabilities.
“Retain the power of your mind, retain the power to think, retain the sense of judgment. It’s extremely important.
“You have to preserve your analytical mind because your analytical mind is what the future employer requires. Your analytical mind is what Nigeria requires. We don’t want to raise lazy thinkers. We want to raise young people who are able to actually apply their minds to whatever support or whatever tool they are using,” she counselled.
In his remarks, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Science and Technology, Olatunbosun Alake, outlined ongoing state initiatives, including the Eko AI Academy, which provides free practical training to over 10,000 residents, alongside teacher training through the Teaching Service Commission across all six educational districts.
“AI will not, and I believe will never, replace our teachers. Teachers are our strongest safeguards,” Alake remarked, adding that teachers equipped with AI knowledge serve as critical guides for independent student learning.