By Johnathan Paoli
The Information Regulator (IR) has ordered the Basic Education Department to refrain from publishing matric results for 2024 on media platforms, and it must obtain explicit consent to publish the 2025 results.
This directive follows an enforcement notice issued by the regulator, citing non-compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
IR spokesperson Nomzamo Zondi spoke to Inside Education on Thursday, saying that following a POPIA compliance assessment, they found that the department’s practice of publishing matric results violated Section 11 of the Act.
Zondi said the department had failed to secure permission from matriculants who sat for the 2023 National Senior Certificate exams or their guardians, before publishing their personal information, thereby breaching privacy rights.
“The IR found that no legal justification existed for the DBE to continue with the publication of the results in the newspapers,” she said.
The regulator advised the department to employ alternative, privacy-compliant methods for distributing matric results, including having students retrieve their results directly from their schools or using a secure SMS platform.
This would enable students to access their scores confidentially.
In addition, the IR ordered that for the 2025 cohort, the department must create a system to collect prior consent from learners or their guardians if it intended to publish results publicly.
Zondi said that should the department fail to implement these changes, it risked being barred from publishing matric results in any form for 2025.
In 2022, the department initially decided to stop publishing matric results in the media to align with Popia requirements, aiming to protect student privacy and curb potential misuse of their personal information.
However, this decision was challenged by civil rights group AfriForum, Maroela Media and Anlé Spies, a 2021 matriculant. They argued that limited access to school facilities and the internet could hinder students, particularly those in rural areas, from easily accessing their results.
The North Gauteng High Court ruled in favour of the publication and instructed the department to publish matric results while omitting first names and surnames, instead using only examination numbers.
Zondi, however, maintained that while ordering the department to publish the results, Judge Miller did not make a ruling on the merits of whether the processing of personal information by publishing matric results was a violation of Popia.
Inside Education spoke to AfriForum’s Alana Bailey, who said its legal division would study the directive.
Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said they would officially communicate the way forward in due time.
Headed by Pansy Tlakula, the IR is an independent body established in terms of Popia. It is accountable to the National Assembly and responsible for overseeing the protection of personal information in the country.
INSIDE EDUCATION
