Getting kicked out of school is no easy task‚ yet in the past four months 44 Gauteng students were expelled.

So just how naughty do you have to be to be tossed out as a rotten apple?

Between April and July this year students in Gauteng schools were expelled for offences including assault‚ bullying or fighting‚ dealing‚ abusing or being in possession of illegal substances like dagga or nyaope‚ being in possession of a dangerous weapon and theft.

In April there were eight expulsions in Gauteng‚ in May there were 12‚ in June there were 17 and in July there were seven. All of the expelled students are boys.

According to the statistics‚ provided by the Gauteng education department‚ most students were expelled for offences related to drugs‚ with the tally reaching 25 between April and July.

Thirteen students were expelled in cases related to assault‚ bullying or fighting in the same period. Four came under fire for carrying dangerous weapons.

Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said this week that the discipline of both learners and teachers was becoming a concern in the province.

Lesufi referred to a case in April‚ which saw students at PT Xulu Secondary School in Vosloorus‚ Ekurhuleni‚ throwing buckets of water at the principal. Video footage of the incident was posted on Twitter.

“This principal was enforcing discipline in our school‚ locking gates for those that arrive late. Learners who arrived late developed a plan to take buckets [and] fill those buckets with water. Every time the principal comes to these learners to inform them that they are late‚ they would pour water at the principal.

“We’ve identified the three learners‚ as I am speaking to you now‚ and we are taking action against these three learners. They are not at school anymore‚ because we can’t tolerate these acts where people want to undermine principals‚” he said.

Saying goodbye to problematic students is easier said than done‚ however.

Head of the Federation of Governing Bodies for South African Schools Paul Colditz said the process starts with an investigation.

“The governing body must conduct a disciplinary hearing and that requires an investigation‚ the drafting of a charge sheet and [issuing the student] notice of a hearing‚” he said.

Notice of the hearing must be given at least five days prior.

The hearing itself can be quite a protracted process‚ with the leading of evidence and a defence‚ Colditz said.

The student may be legally represented. A disciplinary committee will be appointed by the school governing body to adjudicate the matter.

The school governing body may then recommend expulsion to the education department.

“The head of [the education] department receives the recommendation and must reach a decision within 14 days‚ though this seldom happens‚” Colditz said.

An expulsion may be appealed with the education MEC. Parents may also challenge an expulsion in court.

“If a child is expelled and the child is of compulsory school-going age‚ in other words they are younger than 15 or have not yet passed grade 9‚ it is the responsibility of the head of department to find another school for that child‚” Colditz said.

The head of department may choose to impose a lesser punishment on the learner‚ however‚ the education department said.