Court to rule on urgency of matric results battle
The High Court in Pretoria will on Wednesday hand down its decision on the urgency of the application to prevent the publishing of the 2024 matric results on public platforms.
The Information Regulator dragged Basic Education to Court on Tuesday to attempt to interdict the department from publishing the results on public forums, including newspapers.
It believes this violates the learners’ privacy, while the department plans to release the results using matric exam numbers.
The Department of Basic Education's legal counsel, Marius Oosthuizen, argued the application has no urgency.
READ: Matric results: Judge questions urgency of case
"The court ordered, in effect, orders, for the department to carry on with the historical approach - this publication continues, but you cannot publish the personal names of the learner. This court order was followed without objection for at least three years thereafter, and the Information Regulator did nothing; they have all the facts. If you look at this totality of facts, there is no urgency on the matter."
The regulator maintained in court that the matter is of urgency and that the department is in contravention of the POPI Act.
"The results are going to be published on 13 January 2025, and we submit that if the release that seeks needs to be granted before that date, then the regulator could not obtain substantial redress at the hearing because by then, the results would have been published."
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