Information Regulator takes the matric results fight to the Supreme Court of Appeal

The Information Regulator sought leave to appeal a North Gauteng High Court ruling that let the Department of Basic Education publish the 2025 matric results in newspapers despite the Regulator's enforcement notice prohibiting it. The DBE pressed ahead with publication scheduled for 12 January 2026, with the appeal pending. Two questions ride on this case. The first is definitional: the High Court reasoned from "personally identifiable information," a concept the Regulator says does not exist in POPIA, which uses its own broader test for personal information. The second is institutional: whether an IR enforcement notice holds force while an appeal is pending, or can simply be defied. A regulator whose notices can be ignored by a government department pending appeal has a credibility problem that extends well past exam results. The Supreme Court of Appeal's answer will set the boundaries of the Regulator's authority.