Huge Protest After Madhya Pradesh School Suspends 4 Over Principal's AI-Morphed Pic

A disciplinary action over an alleged AI-generated objectionable image has snowballed into a major protest at a school in Madhya Pradesh's Mandla district.

On Tuesday morning, hundreds of students of the Sandipani School in Niwas tehsil blocked the Niwas-Mandla main road for nearly an hour after four students were suspended for allegedly creating and circulating an objectionable image of the principal using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Traffic was disrupted, causing inconvenience to commuters and goods vehicles, before police convinced the students to end the blockade. 

However, the students moved the protest to the school campus, demanding the removal of Principal Ved Prakash Avadhiya. 

The row began on November 7, when three boys and one girl, all studying in Class 12, allegedly created an AI-generated morphed photograph of the principal and shared it widely on social media. The principal lodged a complaint with the police and placed the students under a one-month suspension after a school-level inquiry.

"The students created my image using AI and posted it online. I reported it to the police. After the investigation, four students were suspended, but one of them is refusing to accept it and is misleading others," Principal Avadhiya said. 

He claimed that the same student created a WhatsApp group to mobilise others and is "trying to suppress his misconduct by turning it into a protest."

The protesting students, however, allege severe misconduct by the principal. They claim he abuses, threatens, and even physically intimidates both students and teachers.

"He threatens to expel us, beats children, and even chases students if they are late. Teachers are ready to quit their jobs because of him," said one of the students participating in the protest.

The students maintain that they will not call off the agitation until the principal is removed.

District Education Officer (DEO) Munni Varkade and the Block Education Officer reached the spot and held multiple rounds of discussions with both sides. 

Despite assurances, students have remained adamant. The principal, on the other hand, reiterated that the protests were fuelled by the suspended students after disciplinary action for "immoral activities on social media."