LOBBY group AfriForum is opposing the Department of Basic Education’s decision on the publication of matric results.

AfriForum and Maroela Media have made an urgent application at the North Gauteng High Court in Tshwane.

They served court papers to Minister Angie Motshekga on Friday, 14 January, in order to oppose the decision not to publish the 2021 matric results in the media.

This comes after the department announced that matric exam results would no longer be published on media platforms, in line with the recently introduced Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia).

The department said the publishing of personal information online would be a contravention of the act.

Historically, the matric results were published in newspapers with pupils’ identified through their ID numbers. But according to Natasha Venter, manager for education rights at AfriForum, the public excitement that accompanies the publication of matric results in the media serves as motivation for future matriculants.

“To water down the magnitude of the occasion, this will eventually undermine the pursuit of excellence in education,” she said.

Venter said the department couldn’t hide behind the act to justify this irrational decision.

“Only the exam numbers of the pupils are published on media platforms, in other words no personal information or the identities of pupils will be made public without their consent. In a democratic country information must, within the ambit of the law, be freely available and this is a principle that the department should support,” she said. The urgent application will be heard on Monday, 17 January before the matric results are made available on 20 January.

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