Pupils at Hoërskool Ermelo in Mpumalanga walked out of their classes yesterday and gathered on the school pavilion to express solidarity with their suspended principal, Koos Kruger, AfriForum said.

Pupils at Hoërskool Ermelo in Mpumalanga walked out of their classes yesterday and gathered on the school pavilion to express solidarity with their suspended principal, Koos Kruger, AfriForum said.

This action took place simultaneously with Kruger's hearing which was being held at the offices of the provincial education department in Ermelo.

Kruger was suspended with full pay for allegedly contravening the Employment of Educators Act. He allegedly failed to report to the department on the admission applications of pupils in November last year. Ermelo's circuit manager, Caf Hlatswayo, was appointed acting principal when he was suspended.

"The pupils compiled a memorandum for submission to the Mpumalanga department of education, in which they asked for the reinstatement of their principal, as well as for Hoërskool Ermelo to remain an Afrikaans school," said AfriForum's Kallie Kriel. - Sapa