UG Vice-Chancellor calls for oral exams, project-based assessment to deal with AI generated answers among students

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, has called on universities to overhaul traditional assessment methods to ensure students demonstrate genuine understanding and critical thinking as artificial intelligence (AI) makes it easier to generate essays and answers within seconds.

She said higher education institutions must move beyond heavy reliance on conventional examinations and written assignments towards approaches that assess students' reasoning, practical abilities and capacity to apply knowledge to real-world problems.

"If a student can generate an apparently competent essay in seconds, what exactly are we assessing when we ask for that essay?" she asked.

Professor Amfo made the remarks while delivering the keynote address at the formal opening of the University of Lagos International Week 2026 at the J.F. Ade Ajayi Auditorium.

The event, held from October 12 to 17, was organised under the theme, "Re-imagining Pedagogy and Teaching for Higher Education in the 21st Century."

Among the dignitaries present were Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mr Tolani Sule; Nigeria's Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, represented by Mrs Elizabeth Ogundipe; and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Abdullahi Ribadu, represented by Dr Ayoteju Ogun.

Also in attendance were the United Nations Development Programme's Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms Elsie Attafuah, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola.

Professor Amfo said the growing use of AI presented universities with an opportunity to reassess teaching practices and how they determine whether students have achieved the intended learning outcomes.

She recommended increased use of oral examinations, project-based assessments, portfolios, presentations and practical demonstrations to establish whether students understood the concepts they were expected to learn.

"We must distinguish between a student who can produce an answer and one who understands how to arrive at, evaluate and defend that answer," she said.

She cautioned universities against viewing AI exclusively as a threat to academic integrity or accepting it uncritically as a solution to educational challenges.

"The real challenge is to ask how AI can strengthen learning without weakening the intellectual capabilities that education is supposed to develop," she said.

The University of Ghana Vice-Chancellor also urged institutions to integrate digital literacy and applied AI into their curricula across disciplines, arguing that graduates must understand the technologies increasingly shaping modern life.

She stressed, however, that technological competence should be accompanied by an appreciation of the social inequalities, ethical concerns and responsibilities associated with the development and use of AI.

According to her, universities must produce graduates who can critically evaluate technology rather than merely use it. She further urged African institutions to participate actively in shaping AI systems instead of remaining passive consumers of technological innovation.

African languages must be represented in AI systems

Professor Amfo, a linguist, expressed concern about the limited representation of African languages in the databases and technologies underpinning AI systems.

She noted that some AI tools struggled to recognise local names, accents, expressions and culturally specific meanings, warning that increased dependence on such technologies could deepen existing inequalities in language and knowledge representation.

"If these systems become increasingly central to education, we must ask whether they will expand access to knowledge or reinforce existing linguistic and epistemic inequalities," she said.

She called on African universities to contribute their languages, indigenous knowledge systems, research and ethical perspectives to the development of AI technologies to ensure that the continent's experiences and knowledge are adequately represented.

Shift from passive learning to practical application

Professor Amfo also advocated a departure from teaching approaches that position students primarily as recipients of information, urging universities to adopt methods that encourage learners to develop, test and apply knowledge.

She identified problem-based learning, case studies, simulations, collaborative projects, fieldwork and community-engaged learning as approaches that could help students connect academic knowledge with practical challenges.

Using public health as an example, she explained that addressing resistance to health advice required more than technical expertise.

She said students must also develop communication skills, cultural sensitivity and ethical judgment to understand communities whose responses to health interventions may be influenced by local beliefs, economic circumstances or experiences with public institutions.

Professor Amfo cited the University of Ghana's student venture support programme as an example of how practical initiatives could help learners develop entrepreneurial ideas and turn them into viable ventures.

She said the programme went beyond business creation by helping students identify problems, test assumptions, communicate ideas, respond to criticism, collaborate and manage uncertainty.

She also highlighted the Tetremapa Initiative, which explores how AI and speech-recognition technologies can reduce communication barriers for people with speech impairments while accounting for Ghanaian languages.

According to her, the initiative demonstrates the importance of collaboration among linguists, technology specialists and other stakeholders in developing solutions to complex societal challenges.

Inclusion and institutional support for teaching innovation

The Vice-Chancellor further called for inclusive teaching practices that accommodate students with disabilities, learners from disadvantaged backgrounds and those whose first language differs from the language of instruction.

She said universities must provide accessible learning materials, appropriate assessment arrangements, supportive technologies and institutional systems that enable all students to participate fully in academic life.

"Inclusion is not achieved simply by opening the university's gates. Access gets students into the university, and inclusion determines whether they can participate, belong and succeed once they arrive," she said.

Professor Amfo urged university leaders to encourage innovation in teaching through faculty development, appropriate incentives and institutional policies that recognise teaching excellence alongside research productivity.

She said institutions could draw lessons from international best practices but must adapt them to local conditions, including large class sizes, limited resources and unequal access to internet connectivity and digital devices.

She stressed that universities must rethink both how they teach and how they assess learning to ensure that graduates develop the critical thinking, practical competence and ethical judgment needed to thrive in an increasingly technology-driven world.