A Pretoria high court has ruled that the National Senior Certificate results must be published in media platforms across South Africa, as was done in previous years.
The judgment came after the Department of Basic Education (DBE) noted that the usual practice of publishing matric results on media platforms will be dropped in 2021.
The DBE had announced the discontinuation of publication of matric results across the media, citing the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) which came into effect last July. The law makes room for the protection of personal information.
The civil rights organization AfriForum had filed an urgent application contesting the DBE’s decision not to publish matric results on media platforms. Natasha Venter, Manager for Education Rights at AfriForum, had expressed hope in the courts not only hearing the case but ensuring that results were published on media platforms like before. She insisted that it is of public interest that the information be shared on public forums.
Responses
Judge Millar’s ruling in favour of AfriForum has led to great excitement online, especially among students. Although the results will now be published in the media, they will bear the examination numbers of the students and not their names. Stay tuned.
