“Slave auction” at a school in Cape Town: More and more voices are demanding that “racist” students be excluded from classes (VIDEO)

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) has joined calls for the suspension of students accused of racism at a school in the Western Cape.

Eighth-graders at Pinelands High School allegedly locked black classmates in a cage and pretended to auction them off to the highest bidder.

They cost upwards of R100,000 and became the “property” of other students who “bought” them. A video of the “slave auction” was widely shared on the internet, but contains images of minors and has therefore not been included in this article.

Students in counseling

The Western Cape Provincial Department of Education expressed concern about the incident and said it had conducted interviews with the students involved.

Spokeswoman Bronagh Hammond said students would be offered counselling at the school.

However, Sadtu Secretary General Mugwena Maluleke said more needed to be done.

ALSO READ: 12 Gauteng high school students suspended for allegedly racist WhatsApp chat

“This is something that must be condemned. As a community, we must stand together and form a united nation so that we can succeed.”

“I fully agree with parents in the community that the students should be suspended. This is necessary so that the investigations can continue,” he told broadcaster eNCA.

WATCH: Sadtu’s reaction to the alleged racist incident at a Cape Town school.

Maluleke said the suspension was a “strong signal to parents and the students themselves that racism cannot be tolerated or accepted in our society.”

“They locked black boys in a cage”

An unnamed mother told News24 that her son fought back when other students allegedly tried to “auction” him.

“They picked up black boys and put them in the cage. It’s not like they left voluntarily,” she said.

12 people suspended from a Johannesburg school for allegedly racist chats

The incident occurred just days after 12 students at Pretoria High School for Girls were excluded from classes for allegedly sending racist text messages.

The white students are said to have created an ethnically exclusive WhatsApp group in which they allegedly exchanged “racist microaggressions” about other students.

“The conversations allegedly included racist comments about the ongoing dissatisfaction of black students with the problems they faced at school and alluded to the fact that these problems were insignificant,” said Steve Mabona, spokesman for the Gauteng Department of Education.

Additional reporting by Jarryd Westerdale