Three pupils were to face a disciplinary action on Thursday for allegedly drinking alcohol at school.
The three are currently on suspension. The video of one of the schoolchildren, a teenage girl, went viral after one of the teachers recorded her drunk, wobbling and unable to speak at school.
However, the teacher who recorded the video is also in hot water as the Gauteng Department of Education is taking disciplinary action against her. This latest incident comes after another learner was caught on camera fondling a male teacher's buttocks in a classroom.
The learner, from Lenasia Secondary School, was suspended last week and was expected to appear before a disciplinary committee on Friday.
The latest incident stems from a video showing a schoolgirl allegedly drunk on school premises, wobbling around and in pain after falling while running away from a teacher.
Watch: A learner at OR Tambo Secondary School in Katlehong drunk and wobbling during school hours. pic.twitter.com/2U8v7nNZpp
— The Star (@TheStar_news) August 16, 2018
In the 45 second long clip, teachers and schoolchildren can be heard mocking and ridiculing the girl for being in the state that she is in. It starts with her leaning against the wall but one of the teachers shouts at her: “Yekela lelo bonda. Liyeke. Zihambele.” (Leave that wall alone, walk by yourself). She starts to walk but struggles.
She then stops in front of the teacher recording her but is unsteady on her feet and other schoolgirls laugh at her. Her pants are unzipped, her hair is messy and standing in all ends and she has only one shoe on.
Teachers and school children continue to laugh and make remarks such as “bona unjani” (look at how she is) and also exclaim “Yoh, yoh, yoh”. They also ask her “Ugijima kanjani adakiwe? (Why would you run when you're drunk?)
The department said it was aware of the incident which they say happened at OR Tambo Secondary School, Katlehong on August 6. Allegations are that three learners were consuming what looked like water in a squeeze bottle during a Home Language period 1.
"It must be noted that during Period 2 of Maths Literature a teacher observed the suspicious behaviour of the learners and immediately called the principal to intervene. It was discovered that the learners were drunk and they were escorted to the principal’s office by other learners because they could not walk by themselves.
"Their parents were immediately called to the school and notified about the incident that had taken place. The three learners are currently suspended from the school and they will face a disciplinary on Thursday."
In the video, the girl has her hand on her face and MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi said it was because she had been injured while trying to run away from the principal. Lesufi also said disciplinary proceedings against the teacher who captured the video were underway.
"We implore educators to always lead by example to ensure that learners mirror their conduct in creating a safe schooling environment which is conducive for effective teaching and learning. It is unfortunatethat, such an incident could happen at a school.
“We urge all our learners to refrain from acts of misconduct in schools and implore parents to assist the department in instilling learner discipline in and outside the school environment,” said Lesufi.