Three AI tigers 'roam' Bengal madrasa campus, attendance plummets

Representative image

A West Bengal madrasa was thrust into the spotlight after a video depicting three tigers apparently roaming its campus at Barasat went viral, sparking widespread alarm and leading to a dramatic drop in class attendance, TOI reported.

The footage, initially circulated widely across Facebook and WhatsApp, claimed to show a trio of big cats prowling the grounds of Ula Kalsara Qadria High Madrasa in Kadambagachhi. Unsurprisingly, it did not take long for jittery parents to express concern, with one guardian, cited by TOI, admitting, “We were extremely shocked after watching the video showing tigers roaming the campus. It had already gone viral on Facebook and we decided to stop sending our kids to school.”

The panic led to a flurry of phone calls to headmaster Monirul Mallik, as parents sought reassurances about their children’s safety. For his part, Mallik clarified that the entire episode was, in fact, a digital construct. He said that the video was developed using artificial intelligence by the school’s own geography teacher, Mohammad Yamin Mallik, TOI cited.

The headmaster added that once the scheme was uncovered, the teacher was ordered to remove the video and a show-cause notice was swiftly issued. “The video was created using AI by our geography teacher. We are still not clear about his intentions. After receiving calls from parents, we spoke to the teacher and had the video deleted immediately. The madrasa managing committee will take appropriate steps to ensure such incidents do not happen again,” Mallik reportedly emphasised.

Confronted by the uproar, Mohammad Yamin Mallik broke his silence, explaining, “I created the video using AI technology to make students aware that not everything they see on social media is real. It was meant to align learning with modern technological trends, beyond textbooks. But I sincerely apologise for the panic it has caused. I want to clarify that there are no tigers or any wild animals on campus. I have already deleted the video.”

The episode has inevitably reignited debate about the use of AI in the classroom. As AI expert Joydeep Lahiri was cited by TOI, “The incident has highlighted the double-edged nature of AI tools in educational spaces - while they can be innovative, they must be used responsibly.”