DBE committed to posting matric results in newspapers

matric results

Cape Town — Basic Education Minister, Siviwe Gwarube, confirmed that the department will be publishing the matric results in newspapers, only candidate exam numbers, and not names, are published.

In an interview with eNCA, Gwarube said the department would release the results in newspapers as they do not reveal who the people actually are.

“Not all our candidates can get to their school to get their results, and of course, we are of the view that we are not necessarily publishing information that should be concealed because these are unique exam numbers that the public does not know,” she said.

She added that the department is engaging with the information regulator and is ready to respond with its best foot forward.

“Ultimately, they are trying to make sure that personal information is concealed, and we are of the view that the way in which that results are published is not contravening that right to privacy,” she added.

She reiterated that the unique exam number is not information that any other member of the public would know, except the candidate, and it is of benefit to publish the result in the newspaper, meaning students can access the results from anywhere in the world.

“As things stand, unless we are interdicted unless we are instructed by the court otherwise, we’re on track to release the matric results in newspapers with the unique exam numbers as we had done in the past,” said Gwarube.

According to TimesLIVE, this decision comes despite an enforcement notice from the Information Regulator (IR) prohibiting the practice.

“The DBE 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 such as each learner obtaining their result from the school or using the secure SMS platform of the DBE which enables each learner to access their results confidentially,” the IR said.
It added that the DBE needed to get consent from the learners who are over 18, and consent from parents or guardians of those below 18, before deciding to publish the results in the newspapers, as consent requirements are contained in section 11(1)(a) of POPIA,” said the IR. The IR remains concerned about potential privacy breaches.
In January 2022, the Department also had to deal with a similar issue when it announced it would no longer publish the results in newspapers or online, The Witness reported.

AfriForum, Maroela Media, and a matric pupil successfully challenged the decision in court. The court ruled in favour of publishing the results, provided pupils’ names and surnames were excluded.

Dr Anthea Cereseto, CEO of the Governing Body Foundation, said withholding results from public platforms offered emotional support to pupils, particularly those who fail or underperform.

“Having results delivered in a controlled environment allows pupils to process the outcome with guidance,” Cereseto said.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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