SADTU: Publication of matric results in media ‘money-making bonanza’
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) has expressed its disappointment at Tuesday’s court ruling on the publication of the matric exam results in the media.
The High Court in Pretoria ruled that the Department of Basic Education should publish the matric results on mass media platforms. This after the department said it won’t publish the results this year, as it would be in contravention of the Protection of Personal Information Act.
But AfriForum and two other parties headed to court to challenge the decision.
“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,” says SADTU spokesperson Nomusa Cembi.
“Our education system is still heavily laced with glaring inequalities - from education infrastructure, a chronic shortage of personnel to socio-economic challenges that often bring enormous challenges to those on the receiving end.”
Cembi says media houses see the publishing of results as a ‘money-making bonanza”.
“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.”
She adds that the current group of matriculants also had to deal with two years of disrupted learning due to the pandemic.
“It is thus unreasonable in the extreme to expect them to also face the pressure of the negative social implications that come with the mass publication of results.”
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