PSYCHOLOGISTS will provide counselling to pupils and teachers at Fezokuhle Primary School where seven pupils lost their lives when a bakkie in which they were travelling plunged into a house in Pietermaritzburg's Imbali township.

The pupils killed were under the age of 13. It has emerged that pupils at Fezokuhle are shocked to such an extent that they have refused to enter classrooms or sit on desks which they shared with their peers.

"We are finding it difficult to explain to the kids that they will never see their classmates again.

"This tragedy shocked everyone," said a teacher at the school, who did not want to be identified.

KwaZulu-Natal education spokesman Muzi Mahlambi said teachers and pupils received psychological help.

"They will also receive post-funeral support," Mahlambi said.

The pupils' mass funeral was held at Lay Ecumenical Centre in Edendale, Pietermaritzburg, yesterday.

It is said that the school's outstanding academic achievements attracted pupils from other areas far from Imbali.

Pupils often have no transport option to go to school other than bakkies, which are cheaper than taxis.

The provincial department of transport, community safety and liaison said it would address the school's transport problems.

"We have now asked the district manager of the education department to give us a report on how many of those [school] children come from outlying areas so that we can know if the department of transport will need to provide scholar transport for them," MEC Willies Mchunu said.

This is not the first time a disaster like this has struck the province, killing young lives. Last year, five pupils were killed when a bakkie transporting them plunged into a dam in Rietvlei in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.

At the time, the provincial government said it would consider introducing a policy to prohibit transportation of school pupils in bakkies to prevent further accidents.

Last week, 22 schoolchildren were injured when a minibus taxi crashed into the back of a bus in Durban.

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