The Information Regulator has applied for leave to appeal against a judgment by a full bench of the Pretoria High Court that set aside its enforcement and infringement notices issued to the Department of Basic Education regarding the publication of matric results, leaving the release of this year’s results in legal uncertainty with less than two weeks to go.
The December court ruling had cleared the way for matric results to be published on public platforms using candidates’ examination numbers, as they had been since 2022. However, the Information Regulator’s appeal application means the original enforcement notices may still be in effect.
The full bench of the Pretoria High Court found that the Information Regulator’s argument that pupils would memorise each other’s examination numbers to access their results was unrealistic. The judgment followed an appeal by the Minister of Basic Education to have the enforcement notice issued by the regulator in 2024 set aside.
The enforcement notice had required the department not to publish the 2025 matric results in newspapers and instead make them available using methods compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act. These alternative methods included pupils obtaining their results from their schools or via a secure SMS platform from the Department of Basic Education.
The Department of Basic Education did not comply with the notice, prompting the regulator to approach the court for enforcement proceedings on an urgent basis early last year. However, the Information Regulator suffered another setback when Judge Ronel Tolmay struck its enforcement application off the roll for lack of urgency on 8 January 2025.
The Information Regulator maintains that its application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal suspends the execution of the high court’s orders pending the outcome of the appeal process. The regulator has sent correspondence to the department outlining the impact of the application for leave to appeal.
“The application for leave to appeal makes the enforcement notice and infringement notice enforceable, which still prohibits DBE from publishing the matric results in the newspapers. DBE must comply with the enforcement notice unless it obtains an order granting it leave to execute the judgment pending the final determination of the appeal,” the Information Regulator said.
The Information Regulator said it remained firm in its position that the importance of judicial processes might help illuminate certain aspects of the Protection of Personal Information Act, particularly in relation to the obligations of responsible parties such as the department in complying with the regulator’s orders and in protecting personal information.
The ongoing legal dispute creates uncertainty for students and families awaiting results, media organisations preparing for publication, and the Department of Basic Education planning result distribution. The outcome will have lasting implications for future matric result publications, government compliance with data protection legislation, and the balance between transparency and privacy protection in South Africa’s education system.
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