The provincial department of education will investigate an allegation of racism at a KwaZulu-Natal school after video footage of the incident went viral on Wednesday.

The video, posted on Twitter by parody account Advovo Wabantu, shows a learner at Ladysmith High School enter the boys' toilet, where a racist slogan is plastered on the wall. 

The learner can be heard saying "be careful" to another boy as he walks out of the toilet. 

Provincial education spokesperson Kwazi Mthembu confirmed the racial slur was written in the school's toilet and condemned the act. 

"This is disturbing. There's no space for racism in our schools. Clearly racism is deep- rooted in the society we live in. We all need to fight it as a collective to defeat it."

He said the department would be investigating and that the school's managers "would be made to account" for the incident.

The school's deputy principal, A Maitland, did not respond to a media query at the time of publishing as he was in a meeting.