Court finds IR did not place interests of pupils at heart of application to halt publishing of matric results

JOHANNESBURG -The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has found that the Information Regulator (IR) did not place the interests of pupils at the heart of its application to halt the publishing of matric results.

The courts said the regulator failed to make submissions on the prejudice that would be suffered by learners if the publication of their results were to continue.

The body took the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to court in an attempt to stop it from publishing the 2024 matric results.

READ: Information Regulator's urgent application to stop publication of matric results struck off court roll

However, on Tuesday, Judge Ronel Tolmay highlighted the prejudice that may be suffered by pupils who did not have access to cellphones for SMS notification of their results among other factors.

Tolmay added that there were currently no complaints from matriculants over the publication of their results.

"The interests of the affected learners should have taken centre stage, it did not. There is nothing before me to indicate any prejudice to learners. The applicant should have, at least, in her assessment or papers before this court have dealt with that. It is also important to note that no evidence of any complaints by learners were placed before me," said Tolmay.