Cape Town – The Department of Basic Education is reportedly facing a legal challenge following its decision to stop publishing matric results on media platforms.
The department issued a statement to the media last week, halting the long-standing practice that allowed the entire country to have access to the matric results of matriculants through newspapers and public digital platforms.
The decision was made in response to the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), which went into effect in July of last year, the department said.
The Act sought to protect the rights of privacy when it came to the collection, retention, dissemination and use of personal information.
“The department recognises that section 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 provides that everyone has the right to privacy. This right to privacy includes a right to protection against the unlawful collection, retention, dissemination and use of personal information,” said the department.
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It continued: “In order to comply with the provisions of the POPIA, the usual practice of publishing the National Senior Certificate (NSC) results on public platforms (media platforms) will not occur for 2021. As was also the practice in previous years, all learners will be required to obtain their statement of results from the schools they attended. In this way every learner’s personal information with regards to the outcome of their National Senior Certificate exam will be protected.”
But according to EWN, three organisations, including Afriforum, have approached the courts to reverse the decision, with law experts already having disputed the department’s interpretation of the Protection of Personal Information Act.
The experts said that while “we have the right to privacy in terms of the Constitution, this does not prohibit the publication of personal information”, the report said.
The Citizen quoted Natasha Venter, Manager for Education Rights at AfriForum, as saying that the public excitement that accompanied the publication of matric results in the media served as motivation for future matriculants.
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“To water down the magnitude of the occasion, will eventually undermine the pursuit of excellence in education,” said Venter.
She continued: “The Department cannot hide behind the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013 (POPIA) to justify this irrational decision.
“Only the examination numbers of the students are published on media platforms, in other words, no personal information or the identities of learners will be made public without their consent.”
In a statement on Sunday, the department said it was guided by the need to comply with all the legal obligations, but in the final analysis, the Constitution commanded it to act in the best interest of pupils, News24 reported.
“In a quest to strike this delicate balance of complying with POPIA and act in the best interest of the learner, the department has been engaged with a number of role players, including the Information Regulator and the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF),” the report quoted the department as saying.
The department said that it would not oppose the pending litigation and would abide by the court’s decision.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
