DBE to publish Matric results in newspapers despite POPI Act concerns

The Department of Basic Education will go ahead with the publication of matric results in newspapers. This is despite an order from the Information Regulatory Authority of South Africa that the results should not be published in newspapers. It says this contravenes the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act.

Results are expected on the 14th of next month as attention now shifts from the concluded matric exams to their release.

Basic Education Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga says they are no longer releasing the names and surnames of the candidates and therefore they are not contravening the POPIA Act.

“They are saying by releasing the results we are contravening with the POPIA Act, but we argued that we are only using examination student numbers, not names like we did last time. Exam numbers are not identifiable, I mean you cannot know who the number belongs to that is where we are standing.”

Mhlanga says they have been trying to address the issue of errors committed by newspapers when they publish results and its impact on candidates where some candidates would think that they have not passed to find out later that newspapers erred.

“We have been working with media houses to indicate to them that you are making errors, and you need to fix them. We have met with SANEF, and we explained to them the concerns that we have. That is why the department decided to stop using the names of candidates in newspapers. That means we cared, and we understood the impact of errors that media houses were making.”

The department has urged those who did not make the grade not to despair. But instead, work harder or write supplementary exams.

“Failing is not the end of the world which means you should not end your life because you have failed matric. They need to strive to continue to be better next time. All of us have failed at one point in our lives. Those are some of the skills that we need to impart to our children. Killing yourself is not a solution,” stresses Mhlanga.

Mhlanga says educators will be on standby to counsel those who did not perform well.