Court to hand down judgment on matric results publication on Wednesday

JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria is set to hand down a decision on the publication of the National Senior Certificate examination results for 2024 on Wednesday. 

The court heard arguments from the Information Regulator (IR) seeking to interdict the Department of Basic Education (DBE) from publishing the results. 

It instead wants the results made available to matriculants through avenues compliant with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

Judge Ronel Tolmay has the unenviable task of deciding a matter riddled with complexities. 

READ: DBE slams IR for 'self-created urgency' in application to halt publishing of matric results

While there is a high court order handed down in 2022 compelling DBE to publish matric results, the IR said it had no effect on its ability to perform its statutory functions and this, among others, has given rise to the litigation. 

But it faced vehement opposition as advocate Quintus Pelser, on behalf of AfriForum, argued that if there was prejudice that was to be suffered, then the regulator would've acted sooner.

"If there was real prejudice as a result of the publishing of the examination numbers, then a prudent applicant would've stepped forward and said I must stop this thing," Pelser said.

Judgment will be handed down at 11:30.