Pretoria – The Department of Basic Education has urged the high court to invalidate the enforcement notice from the Information Regulator, which prohibits the publication of matric results in newspapers.
Last month, the Information Regulator issued an enforcement notice to the Department of Basic Education, demanding an end to the traditional publication of matric examination results in local newspapers.
This notice was aimed at halting the release of the 2024 matric results in newspapers, citing non-compliance with South Africa’s data protection law, the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
However, the department maintains that publishing the results in newspapers does not breach POPIA.
On Friday, (13 December 2024), the department filed legal documents with the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
“The appeal indicates that the enforcement notice is currently on hold, permitting the department to proceed with releasing results to media outlets, which will publish them in accordance with the established practice of using only examination numbers,” stated the department in a release on Sunday, (15 December 2024).
In its legal documents, the department argues that the current format of matric examination results (including only the examination number and results) published in local newspapers does not contain information that can identify specific learners.
“It is insufficient for the Information Regulator to merely conclude that the Department of Basic Education has failed to demonstrate compliance with any conditions specified in section 11(1) of the POPI Act,” the department commented.
“The Information Regulator must provide evidence of non-compliance with relevant provisions of the POPI Act regarding any previous or ongoing violations of personal data protection before an enforcement notice can be issued.”
“Therefore, the decision to issue the enforcement notice to the Department does not align with legal standards and could constitute a misuse of discretion by the Information Regulator, which should have been applied in a different manner.”
