AfriForum ready to oppose IR’s urgent court application regarding matric results

AfriForum’s legal team has informed the Information Regulator (IR) that it is ready to take legal action if the IR proceeds with an urgent application to prevent the publication of the 2024 matric results. In a letter to the IR’s legal representative, AfriForum requested to be added as a co-respondent to the case if the IR goes ahead with the case against the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on 7 January 2025.

According to Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs, the request is based on compliance with the court order issued on 18 January 2022, in favour of the publication of matriculation results. At the time, AfriForum and other parties brought the case to ensure that the 2021 matric results could be published on public platforms.

The court order confirmed AfriForum’s opinion that the publication of examination numbers without names provided sufficient protection of the privacy of the matriculants while also being in the public interest.

This past week, the IR not only announced that it was fining the DBE for the intended publication of the results but also approached the court on an urgent basis to try to stop the publication thereof.

Based on the court order, AfriForum considers the enforcement order of the IR to be invalid and is therefore ready to oppose any action against the DBE and the publication of the results.

“Matriculants have a right to privacy, but also the right to access their results on public platforms, provided that their names are not published. This is an established practice, and the court has already conceded that this is in everyone’s interest,” Bailey says.