AfriForum has welcomed a Pretoria High Court ruling that allows the publication of the 2024 matric results in newspapers, rejecting the urgent application by the Information Regulator (IR) seeking to block its release.

The court also ordered the IR to pay AfriForum’s legal costs. The decision came after a hearing yesterday, where Judge Ronèl Tolmay ruled that the results should be published in the public interest.

The IR had argued that publishing the matric results in the media would infringe on the privacy rights of the students. However, Judge Tolmay sided with the argument that the publication of the results serves the broader public interest, affirming that they should be made available on public platforms and through printed media.

AfriForum, and several other organisations, had been added as interested parties in the case, which was brought against the Department of Basic Education (DBE). This legal battle follows a similar case in 2022, in which AfriForum and other parties successfully argued that the publication of matric results was necessary. In that case, the court issued an order to ensure that the results would be publicly available.

AfriForum Head of Cultural Affairs Alana Bailey expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision.

"This ruling is a victory for matriculants, for whom the publication of their results is of great importance. It is also part of the larger conversation that is essential to gain more clarity about the balance between the right to privacy and the public interest," she said.

While the current ruling permits the immediate publication of the 2024 matric results, the broader issue of whether the results should be withheld or made public will be further examined in a later case scheduled for later this year. For now, the court’s decision ensures that the results will be available to the public in time for their expected release next week.

Meanwhile, the IR said it was disappointed that the decision was not in its favour and that the ruling did not mean that the processing of personal information of the matriculants', by publishing their exam numbers and results, is lawful.

"If the DBE is to proceed with the publication of the results in the newspapers, they will still be guilty of non-compliance with the Regulator’s orders. This is because the Regulator’s orders are not suspended by the High Court's decision today, nor by any appeal. No appeal is currently before the Court. Until such time as an appeal against the orders of the Regulator is brought before Court, the Regulator will continue to expect compliance with its orders and will do what is provided for in the law to enforce its orders," it said.