Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Video Credit: Twitter/@Retarded_Ape

A South African school is hoping to avoid a race row after footage of a white student beating up a black pupil was widely shared online.

The incident took place at the Hoerskool President High School in the sprawling city of Johannesburg in the north-eastern South African province of Gauteng, and was filmed by an onlooker.

Netizen ‘Ruslan’ posted the video with the message: “The violence in our school is really sickening!”

Picture Credits: CEN

Gauteng education official Panyaza Lesufi said about the school fight: “I am very reluctant to use race and I am also reluctant to enter the domain of who is right and who is wrong.”

Meanwhile, the school has confirmed that four students have been suspended and a disciplinary hearing is set for 31st January.

Lesufi asserted: “We need to get to the source of the fight.”

In the footage, a white teen is seen beating a black student who is brandishing a belt in his right hand that he reportedly took off to use as a weapon before the brawl began.

The white pupil knocks his opponent to the ground and walks away to rejoin his pals.

Meanwhile, Lesufi fears that the video may lead to a race row and is investigating the incident to prevent it from escalating further, according to local media.

Following a preliminary investigation, the Gauteng education department claimed that the black student was the first to attack.

A statement read: “The preliminary report indicates that the altercation started when the perpetrator threw a ball towards a Grade 8 learner, which was seen by the victim, who then confronted the perpetrator.”

The disciplinary proceeding continues.