Battle over media publication of matric results lands in high court again

WHILE matrics across the country have started with their final exams, lawyers are battling it out in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, as to whether their results may once again be published in the media early next year.

- ZELDA VENTER

This has been an ongoing issue since 2022, and while several judges have up to now given the green light for the publication, the matter has never been fully ventilated. The dispute over the public publication of matric results began in 2022 when the Department of Basic Education (DBE) tried to prohibit it.

At the time, the judge agreed with AfriForum and the other parties involved that the publication of the results was in the public interest and that the use of examination numbers instead of the names of the matriculants provided sufficient protection for their privacy.

At the end of last year, the Information Regulator (IR) tried to prevent the DBE from publishing the 2024 matric results. The IR's application to obtain an interdict against it, however, failed in January when the court ruled in favour of the publication of the results.