The North Gauteng High Court postponed its ruling after hearing arguments about whether publishing matric exam results violates privacy laws. The judges heard the case on Monday, October 27, and reserved judgment on Tuesday, October 28, 2025. The Department of Basic Education defends its practice of releasing examination numbers without names, while the Information Regulator argues this method breaches the Protection of Personal Information Act.
The dispute began when the regulator issued an enforcement notice on November 18, 2024, ordering the department to cease what it considers unlawful data sharing. More than 700,000 students wrote the National Senior Certificate examinations this year. The department switched from publishing full names to examination numbers in 2021, but it continues to face challenges from the regulator.
The regulator wants courts to declare current publication methods illegal and require password-protected portals in their place. The department maintains that examination numbers cannot be used to identify individuals without prior knowledge of the specific number. The ruling will affect how families and schools access results in January 2026.
The dispute began when the regulator issued an enforcement notice on November 18, 2024, ordering the department to cease what it considers unlawful data sharing. More than 700,000 students wrote the National Senior Certificate examinations this year. The department switched from publishing full names to examination numbers in 2021, but it continues to face challenges from the regulator.
The regulator wants courts to declare current publication methods illegal and require password-protected portals in their place. The department maintains that examination numbers cannot be used to identify individuals without prior knowledge of the specific number. The ruling will affect how families and schools access results in January 2026.
