General: Parents approval needed for publication of matric results

The Information Regulator says unless the Department of Basic Education gets parental consent, they will not be able to publish matric results, reports News24. At the end of the school year, the department usually publishes the results in newspapers. But this, according to the Information Regulator, might be a contravention of the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia). Part-time board member Mfana Gwala said the publishing of results is the processing of personal information and for that to happen, the consent of the subject is needed. ‘And in this context of dealing with children, we need parents' consent. Unless that is provided, we can't publish.’ Gwala added that if the department wants to publish the results, they should also give candidates the option of opting out. In January, AfriForum took the department to court over their decision not to publish the results. The court ruled in favour of AfriForum and the results were published. Basic Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said in light of the regulator's comments, the department would consult before making a final decision on the publication.