A school principal in Nongoma has been suspended for allegedly raping a 15-year-old pupil, the KwaZulu-Natal education department said on Monday.

"We can confirm that a school principal from a Nongoma school in Zululand has been suspended following his arrest last week," said spokesperson Mbali Thusi.

The principal was arrested on Thursday and he briefly appeared in the Nongoma Magistrate's Court on Friday. The case was postponed to Wednesday for a bail application.

The Sowetan newspaper on Monday reported that the principal and the 15-year-old were cousins.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said most school rape accusations involving pupils were against school principals.

The manager for training and advocacy at Childline, Joan van Niekerk, said more pupils were becoming aware of their rights and reporting incidents of sexual harassment and rape.

She said it was difficult to say whether there had been an increase in rape in schools.

It was also difficult to provide accurate rape statistics because not all school rape cases were reported, she said.

Makhumbuza High scandal

Earlier this year, five Makhumbuza High School teachers were accused of having sex with female pupils for money and alcohol. The department of education investigation has cleared three of the five teachers.

Charges against the fourth teacher were dropped while a fifth teacher was facing a rape charge and was out on bail, the department said.

The SA Council of Educators was still conducting its own investigation into the accusations against the five teachers.

In another Durban school, two pupils laid sexual harassment charges against their principal in September.