Teachers and pupils at Holele secondary in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria, were safely evacuated after the school caught fire on Wednesday.

Police spokesperson Rianna van Aarde said the fire was caused by faulty wiring and that nobody was injured during the incident.

“We can confirm that the school was on fire and that nobody was injured. We would like to dispel the idea that this was a result of a community protest. Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire was a result of faulty wiring. Nobody was injured,” she said.

However, Gauteng department of education spokesperson Steve Mabona said they were yet to determine the cause of the fire.

“We can confirm the incident but we don’t know what caused the fire. We are working with the relevant authorities such as the EMS and SAPS and they will guide us on what caused the fire,” Mabona said.