DBE needs permission from parents of matrics who are under 18 to publish results - Information Regulator

JOHANNESBURG - The Basic Education Department will have to get legal permission from parents or guardians of matric pupils who are under the age of 18 to publish their results in newspapers or other media.

Until then, the Information Regulator has banned the publication of the learner’s personal details, saying it was in violation of the Protection of Information (POPI) Act.

In the past, matric pupils’ names, surnames and results were published.

But the department moved in recent years to only publish student numbers.

The Information Regulator's Advocate Pansy Tlakula said it's not a foolproof way of concealing identities.

"The way the students sit in the examination room is according to their examination number so it will be number one, two, three, four... following each other and the results are published in that order, so if you are number one and I am number two, you will know my results and I will know your results."