The High Court in Pretoria has ordered that the matric results may be published in the media.
This comes after the Department of Education announced on 10 January that they will not be supplying the matric results to the media, as they have been doing for decades, as it is against the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI).
AfriForum and Maroela Media then submitted an urgent application last Friday against the department’s decision.
The Department did not oppose the application.
AfriForum welcomed the court ruling by Judge Anthony Millar that granted the organisation’s order unchanged.
“It is in the public interest that this information is shared on public platforms and that is one of the reasons why we brought this application. We are delighted that the court agreed with us in this argument,” said Natasha Venter, Manager of Education Rights at AfriForum.
In the meantime Jaco Deacon, CEO of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (Fedsas), said they have made sure they are ready to work with the media so that the results are furbished in time. “It went beyond me that the department made this decision,” he said.
Quintus Pelser SC, for AfriForum and Maroela Media, argued that the publication of matric results in the media is a long-standing institution.
“The relevant information must be available to everyone,” he argued. Millar agreed and granted the application.
