School sex video outrage

A video in which high school pupils can be seen having sex in a corridor, fighting in a classroom and sniffing a white powder on a school desk has left teachers and some pupils "disgusted".

The four-minute video clip, titled Yizo Yizo - the return CJB, shows pupils at Chris J Botha Secondary School in Bosmont, western Johannesburg, recreating graphic scenes from the controversial school-based drama series Yizo Yizo.

The clip - purporting to be a trailer for a film set to be released two weeks ago - has been widely shared on social media since last month.

It consists of pictures and videos set to the 2002 song Ghetto Fabulous featured in Yizo Yizo, which aired on SABC1 over a decade ago. The show dealt with rape, violence, drug-dealing, harassment and a school on the verge of anarchy.

The video clip also shows a wild party in the boys' bathroom and a teacher who appears to be sleeping on a desk.

In one scene, a pupil is seen standing on a teacher's desk with the words "Grandma is not here" appearing above his head.

In another, a teacher walks into a classroom and shortly after she leaves, the camera focuses on a boy's crotch. Then pupils start dancing on desks.

Chris J Botha principal Hagan Godfrey said he was "disgusted" and disciplinary measures were being taken against the 18 pupils related to the video.

Godfrey said he had confronted the teacher who was seemingly caught sleeping and she said she had been feeling ill and "rested her eyes during her free time". He said he also spoke to the pupils in the video and they had various excuses, including that the pictures were not taken on school premises, and the white powder being sniffed had been chalk dust.

Godfrey said the police conducted regular drug raids at the school. "We are sitting on a ticking time bomb; my biggest challenge is keeping the drugs in the community out of the school," he said.

A Grade 10 pupil at the school yesterday said on condition of anonymity: "I know what's going on in the school, but nobody bothers to change it. It's not right and a teacher sleeping in class is normal."

Gauteng department of education spokesman Phumla Sekhonyane said it was trying to establish the "certainty of the facts" regarding the video.

"The department will also take action to protect children from all forms of abuse and neglect," Sekhonyane said.