The Pretoria High Court has ruled that the matric results for thousands of learners who wrote their exams last year may be published in the media next week.

Earlier today, Judge Ronèl Tolmay ruled in favour of the publication of the results.

The Information Regulator (IR) has also been ordered by the Pretoria High Court to pay the legal costs of civil rights organisation AfriForum for the urgent application brought against the Department of Education to stop the publishing of the matric results next week.

AfriForum and several other groups were added as interested parties to the IR’s case against the Department of Basic Education (DBE).

The IR argued that the publication of the matric results in public media would be a violation of the matriculants’ right to privacy. On the contrary, Tolmay ruled that it was in the public interest and that the results should, therefore, be published on public platforms and in printed media.

AfriForum has welcomed the ruling.

Alana Bailey, AfriForum’s head of cultural affairs, said they and other parties also succeeded in a case on the same issue in 2022.

“The ruling is a victory for the matriculants for whom the publication of their results in this way is of great importance.

“It is also part of the larger conversation that is essential to gain more clarity about the distinction between the right to privacy and the public interest,” Bailey said after the case.

The publication of matric results in newspapers is a long-standing tradition, with thousands of matric learners eagerly awaiting the moment after midnight when the newspapers are delivered to local shops and fuel stations.