For decades, the wait for the matric results has generated a sense of excitement and suspense. More so the day before their release as the anxiety and eagerness among the waiting pupils and parents reach fever pitch.

For decades, the wait for the matric results has generated a sense of excitement and suspense. More so the day before their release as the anxiety and eagerness among the waiting pupils and parents reach fever pitch.

With the dissemination of the matric results through the media and electronic media, technology made this information accessible throughout the country during the festive season almost immediately.

Sadly that tradition might be a thing of the past, if changes proposed by the Education Department become a reality. The department is considering changing the way results are released - including a possible ban on the publishing of results in papers and electronic media, according to a report published in The Star yesterday.

Prompting the ban apparently is the hype surrounding the release of results, including the booze parties attended by matric pupils. The department also cites the incident in which a matric pupil committed suicide after learning in papers that she had failed - when she had in fact passed.

The reality is that matric is an important milestone in the academic life of a pupil - being both a gateway to adulthood and tertiary education.

So the solution to the problem lies not in a media ban but the publication of a disclaimer with the results, cautioning the public that the full record of the outcome would be available at schools.