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The Information Regulator (IR) is still trying desperately to obtain leave to appeal against an earlier ruling in which a full bench of judges ruled in favour of AfriForum and other parties, determining that the matric results may indeed be published on public platforms. The High Court in Pretoria dismissed the IR’s application for leave to appeal on 3 June, but this institution has now approached the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) directly for leave. As with the previous application, AfriForum will oppose this attempt as well.

“Relief that the dispute over the publication of matric results has finally been resolved was short-lived. It is clear that the IR neither recognises the futility of this case nor understands the risks that a ruling in its favour would pose. While the IR plays power games, the future of information that ought to be disclosed in the public interest is at stake,” says Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s Head of Cultural Affairs.

The case started in 2022 when the Department of Basic Education (DBE) attempted to prohibit the publication of the matric results. In legal proceedings that followed, the court ruled in favour of AfriForum and the other parties involved that public disclosure had to proceed.

At the end of 2024, the IR attempted to prevent the DBE from publishing the 2024 matric results. However, the IR’s application for an interdict against this failed, after which the case proceeded to a hearing on the merits of the application. In December 2025, a full bench of judges ruled that the matric results may indeed be published on public platforms. The judgment confirmed that the use of examination numbers as sole means of identification provides sufficient protection for the privacy of matriculants and that the DBE had acted lawfully in not complying with the IR’s instruction to withhold the results. The High Court’s refusal of leave to appeal reaffirmed this ruling. The application to the SCA is the IR’s final attempt to achieve a different outcome.

Various fields of research work with information of individuals who can only be identified by means of numbers or codes. This is used to protect their anonymity, just as is the case with the matric results. This is therefore a matter with wider implications as it deals with the balance between the right to privacy and public interest. AfriForum hopes that this matter will be resolved soon.

Issued by: AfriForum