Battle over matric results
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) says that matric learners have never complained about the publication of their final results in newspapers infringing on their privacy, News24 reports.
In addition to never receiving a single complaint, the DBE’s director general Hubert Mweli said in the court papers that matriculants take great satisfaction from being able to compare their performance to others, albeit anonymously.
He says this comes from “an instinctive desire born from the need for self-actualisation.”
Apart from those to whom a learner has disclosed their exam number, readers of a local newspaper cannot identify a matriculant from the information published, said Mweli.
This follows the South African Information Regulator (IR) applying for an interdict to prevent the DBE from publishing results using methods it does not deem compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia), including in local newspapers.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria will hear the IR’s application on 7 January 2025.
In mid-November, the regulator issued the department an enforcement notice instructing it to vow not to publish the results in newspapers by 19 December 2024.
Instead, the department was instructed to publish the results using methods deemed compliant with Popia: the internal dissemination of results by schools and via the dedicated SMS line.
The enforcement notice also gave the department 31 days to appeal the decision.
However, the DBE failed to respond to the notice and was consequently fined R5 million for failing to comply by the deadline.
Following this, the department appealed the decision, suspending the directive which instructed it not to publish the results.
However, Information Regulator chair Pansy Tlakula highlighted that this appeal was too late, as the DBE was afforded a 31-day period to appeal the notice.
Mweli said the department intended to ask the court for condonation and shifted the blame for the failure to appeal during the given period to the state attorney.
He also highlighted that the issue was brought to the fore during “the busiest time for the department” and the traditional holiday season after the department had already responded to the IR’s draft report in January 2024.
This brought about logistical challenges and made seeking legal counsel difficult, according to Mweli.
In addition to its appeal of the IR’s enforcement notice, the department is also appealing the R5 million fine it was issued with.
Previous rulings
In 2022, the DBE announced it would no longer publish matric exam results on media platforms — including newspapers — to comply with the provisions of Popia.
This was challenged by civil society group AfriForum and Afrikaans news publication Maroela Media, which argued that the decision would prejudice learners who did not live close to their respective schools.
The North Gauteng High Court overruled the DBE, stating that it should continue to publish the matric results publicly on media platforms and newspapers.
However, the court ordered the department to ensure that the publication of the results did not reflect the names and surnames of the learners.
The DBE did not oppose the ruling.
The Popi Act, published in 2013, governs South Africa’s data protection and privacy laws.
The Information Regulator was created and empowered to enforce Popia as part of the Act, passed into law in July 2020.
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