More disturbing video footage of school yard violence in KwaZulu-Natal has surfaced.
The provincial Department of Education has obtained two clips of vicious brawling at Richards Bay Secondary School on KZN's North Coast.
The department said at the weekend that the videos, which appear to have been filmed using a cellphone, were taken on Friday.
It said it was alleged that some pupils were in possession of knives and guns, and that shots were fired on the school premises.
The first of the videos, which is 12 seconds long, begins with a group of boys walking across a school field.
One produces what appears to be a large knife or a panga and slams it into another boy while a crowd of children around them scream.
The second video is 21 seconds long and shows a group of boys fighting one another in a courtyard. Again, one is wielding what looks like a knife or a panga, and he attacks another boy with it.
They then run out of the shot.
The MEC for Education in the province, Mthandeni Dlungwana, is scheduled to visit the school today to assess the situation.
The department said it would not rest until the culprits had been identified and brought to book.
“Schools should be the centres of learning and teaching, not the sites of bullying, gangsterism and criminality,” it said.
It added that bullying was a significant challenge to school safety.
The department was doing everything in its power to provide safe and caring environments in its schools, it said.