The information regulator (IR) has applied for leave to appeal against a judgment by a full bench of the Pretoria high court that set aside its enforcement and infringement notices issued to the department of basic education in 2024 regarding the publication of matric results.
The court in December ruled that matric results may be published on public platforms, as they had been since 2022, using candidates’ examination numbers.
The enforcement notice issued by the IR in 2024 had required the department not to publish the 2024 matric results in newspapers and instead make them available using methods compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia), such as pupils obtaining their results from their schools or via a secure SMS platform from the department of basic education (DBE).
The department did not comply with the notice, prompting the regulator to approach the court for enforcement proceedings on an urgent basis early last year.
Judge Ronel Tolmay struck the IR’s enforcement application off the roll for lack of urgency on January 8 2025.
The December court ruling followed an appeal by the minister of basic education to have the enforcement notice issued by the regulator in 2024 set aside.
The judgment, by the full bench, found that the IR’s argument that pupils would memorise each other’s examination numbers to study their results was unrealistic.
The regulator said its application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal suspends the execution of the high court’s orders pending the outcome of the appeal process.
The regulator said it has sent correspondence to the department, outlining the impact of the application for leave to appeal.
“The application for leave to appeal makes the enforcement notice and infringement notice enforceable, which still prohibits DBE from publishing the matric results in the newspapers. DBE must comply with the enforcement notice unless it obtains an order granting it leave to execute the judgment pending the final determination of the appeal,” said the regulator.
The regulator said it stood firm in its position that the importance of judicial processes might help illuminate certain aspects of Popia, particularly in relation to the obligations of responsible parties, such as the department, in complying with the regulator’s orders and in protecting personal information that they hold.
TimesLIVE
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