By Johnathan Paoli
The North Gauteng High Court has adjourned its decision over the application brought by the Information Regulator (IR) to halt the publishing of the 2024 National Senior Certificate examination results.
Judge Ronel Tolmay postponed the case to Wednesday, in order to consider the arguments of both parties.
Tolmay speaking during the trial, outlined a significant issue with the urgency of the application brought by the IR.
“The matric results were published. There was the initial court order of 2022 so in 2022 and 2023, the matric results were published. Your client was well aware that the matrics write exams in the last part of the year, so what makes this year different from 22 and 23? Why is it urgent now?” Tolmay asked.
The Basic Education Department’s legal team argued that there was no urgency in the application brought by the IR saying that the urgency is self-created.
Counsel for the IR, however, argued that the department’s past issuance of consent forms to learners was an acceptance that the dissemination of exam results using exam numbers did contravene the Protection of Personal Information Act.
The Regulator previously issued an infringement notice to the department in December in which it ordered the DBE to pay an administrative fine of R5 million following its failure to comply with the enforcement notice issued on 18 November.
The notice had ordered the department to provide an undertaking “that it will not publish the results of the 2024 matriculants in the newspapers” within 31 days from the date on which the order was served.
It also ordered that the department “must not publish the results for the 2024 matriculants in newspapers and must make these results available to the learners using methods that are compliant with POPIA”.
The Regulator indicated that should the department fail to abide by the notice within the stipulated time frame, “it will be guilty of an offence, in terms of which the Regulator may impose an administrative fine in the amount not exceeding R10 million, or liable upon conviction to a fine or to imprisonment of the responsible officials”.
The 31 days given to the department expired on 19 December.
Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters has come out in support for the IR.
EFF spokesperson Leigh-Anne Mathys said that the publishing of results on a public platform would only cause more trouble than assist learners.
“To release matriculant examination results publicly enhances nothing and instead creates an opportunity for ridicule and humiliation of those who may not have performed well when compared to their peers,” Mathys said.
She held that education should never be used as a means of negative competition or humiliation, which discourage young people from bettering themselves.
INSIDE EDUCATION
