Pupils find dead body under mobile classroom in Alexandra

Pupils at the M.C. Weiler Primary School in Alexandra have discovered what is suspected to be a human body underneath a mobile classroom within the school premises.

The grim discovery was made on Thursday.

The Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson Steve Mabona said pupils allegedly went to fetch a soccer ball that was underneath the Grade 5A mobile classroom.

“The learners reportedly identified their discovery as a human skeleton and immediately informed their educators.”

ALSO READ: Family prepares to bury three brothers who died after consuming ‘energy drinks’

Mabona said the school’s management contacted the police and sent pupils home to allow police officials to conduct necessary investigations.

“Police officials inspected the scene and the learner’s discovery was confirmed to be a human skeleton. The body was then removed from the scene and police indicated that an inquest case will be investigated accordingly.”

The Gauteng Department of Education said it has dispatched its Psycho-Social Unit to the school to provide counselling and trauma support for all affected pupils and staff.

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said the department is waiting for police to complete their investigation.

“While we await further reports from the police regarding this matter, learning at the school will continue with necessary psycho-social support.”

More learners die at Gauteng schools

On Thursday, the Gauteng department of education announced two more pupils have died in the province from poisoning.

In a statement, the department announced the deaths of the siblings – a grade 1 boy and grade 2 girl – from Kaalfontein Primary School, who died on Tuesday after eating poisoned meat.

Their one-year-old sibling also passed on.

According to Lesufi, while the children were at school, their grandmother sprinkled meat with rat poison and placed the container on top of the refrigerator, with the intention to, later at night, kill rats in the house.

The grandmother then went to church and made the grim discovery that the children had consumed the meat.

This comes just a week after the deaths of three pupils after consuming poisoned energy drinks allegedly given to them by their father last Thursday.

ALSO READ: Two primary school pupils die after eating poisoned meat left in house by grandmother