The students decided to rip up their uniforms and pose for photos to celebrate the end of their secondary school exams.
The photos from one school in the main city of Bujumbura were widely shared on social media, attracting strong condemnation from the main teachers’ association.
In an audio recording circulating online, the headmaster of the school involved threatened to withhold the students’ leaving certificates because of their “misconduct”.
So much debate did the ex-students raise that the discussion even came up at this week’s national security meeting.
President Pierre Nkurunziza condemned their behaviour when the issue came up at their national security meeting on Tuesday, according to his spokesman Jean-Claude Karerwa who spoke to BBC.
Mr. Karerwa, however, said the president felt this was an issue that should be dealt with by parents.
This is, however, not the first-time school going children are making national and international headlines in the country.
Early this year, Burundi bowed to international pressure and released three schoolgirls who had been detained for doodling on the picture of the president.
The girls, aged 15, 16 and 17 had been in prison for more than two weeks, when they were arrested with three other schoolgirls and a 13-year old boy.
The case garnered international attention after Human rights activists in the country decried the inhumane move.
Their detention led to a social media campaign under the hashtag #FreeOurGirls, with people posting on Twitter images of the president defaced with clown wigs and twirly images.
