The Information Regulator has filed an urgent application to halt the annual publishing of the Matric Results in newspapers.
The case is expected to be heard on the 7th of January just days before the results of the Class of 2024 will be released.
The information Regulator, earlier, issued an enforcement notice on the department claiming the publishing of the results was in violation of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI).
The Information Regulator Chairperson Pansy Tlakula says the department failed to respond in time to the enforcement notice and was served with an infringement notice.
She explains that they had imposed a R5 million fine on the Basic Education Department for failing to protect student privacy.
“We are taking legal advice because we were only served on Christmas Eve. As we speak we are taking legal advice from our lawyers on the next step.”
The matric Class of 2024 could be the first not to find their results through the traditional newspaper. This is as the Information Regulator has begun a legal process to block the publishing of results citing it was in non-compliance with the (POPI) Act.
The department has challenged the enforcement notice arguing that the current format does not violate the privacy of learners as no identifiable information is published.
The information regulator has now approached the Pretoria High Court with an urgent application just days before results are set to be released in January.
[MEDIA RELEASE] Statement on the infringement notice issued by the Information Regulator pic.twitter.com/ssiwPULZq9
— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) December 23, 2024
‘We are proceeding with the release of matric results in newspapers’ – DBE’s Elijah Mhlanga
