Hard-pressed newspaper publishers are breathing a sigh of relief after the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday ruled matric results may be published.
Traditionally newspapers raise their print numbers by a huge margin when they print matric results.
About a million students wrote matric last year.
With falling circulations, the high court ruling comes as a huge relief for newspapers who will up their print runs significantly on Friday when they will publish the matric results.
AfriForum, which brought the matter to court together with media houses and others after the Department of Basic Education announced that matric results would no longer be published in newspapers, said it welcomes the court ruling by Judge Millar.
The organisation said matric results can be published in newspapers and on other media platforms.
It is in the public interest that this information is shared on public platforms and that is one of the reasons why we brought this application,” said Natasha Venter, Manager of Education Rights at AfriForum.
“We are delighted that the court agreed with us in this argument,
The Department of Basic Education said, “it has noted the Pretoria High Court ruling” regarding the release of the National Senior Certificate examinations results on media platforms.
The department said it will “abide by the ruling” adding, “this means that the department will make available the results to stakeholders who requested access.”
The department said the conditions of the court ruling must be taken into account in line with the provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.
“In addition to accessing results from media platforms, the department also urges candidates to register on the website to view the results when they become available,” said the department.
Candidates will have to go through a two-step verification process before receiving confirmation of their registration.
A 13-digit ID number and exam number will be required for registration.
The department said its website was zero-rated, which means it can be accessed without.
Reacting to the ruling the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) said “it has noted with disdain” the ruling by the Pretoria High Court in favour of the AfriForum and others compelling the department to publish the matric results in mass media platforms.
“It is our strong view that this ruling and those that brought the matter to court are about protecting the business interests of media houses above those of the learners and their parents,” said SADTU.
“In our view, the publishing of matric results does not bring any educational benefit to those directly concerned, being our learners.
“The publishing of the results only brings extra monetary value to the media houses that see it as some kind of a money-making bonanza.”
