The court battle over whether matric results should be published on public platforms ended today, with the court ruling that publishing examination numbers does not violate the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia).

This comes after the Information Regulator (IR) issued an enforcement notice against the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in November 2024 and brought an urgent court application in January this year to prevent the publishing of last year’s matric results.

The urgent application was dismissed, and the matter was placed on the regular court roll. The hearing took place over two days in October, and judgment was reserved.   

Today, the high court in Pretoria found that the way matric results are published, via examination numbers, is sufficient to protect learners’ privacy.

In a statement, AfriForum, which acted as a respondent in the matter, said it welcomed the court ruling.

The court found that the IR’s argument that learners will memorise each other’s examination numbers to look at results that are not theirs is highly unlikely.

According to Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s head of cultural affairs, the dispute regarding the public release of matric results started in 2022 when the DBE tried to prohibit it. In legal action that followed, the judge agreed with the argument of AfriForum and the other parties involved that the release of the results is in the public interest and should therefore proceed.

Bailey said matriculants regularly appeal to AfriForum to help ensure they can still access their results as before. She added that the case was also necessary to provide greater clarity on balancing the protection of individuals’ privacy with the need to release information in the public interest.

“This ruling contributes to more certainty in this regard,” said Bailey. “This year’s matriculants, as well as future ones, will now still have access to their results, and AfriForum is grateful that we were able to protect their rights in this regard.”

Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel.

Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.