Johannesburg – A total of 101 pupils died in Gauteng last year because of violence, the provincial education department said on Tuesday.

This emerged from the Annual Survey data collected by the department which shows that a total of 1 043 pupils died in Gauteng in 2012.

These deaths occurred outside school premises and school time, said spokesperson Gershwin Chuenyane.

“Only one death was as result of violence committed on the school premises,” he said.

The other deaths were due to illness, accidents and suicide.

Sixty nine Gauteng pupils committed suicide last year, 604 died of illnesses, and 269 died in accidents.

The department would conduct another survey for 2013.

– SAPA