POPIA Policy

1. Introduction

Mfundo Thuto Secondary School is committed to safeguarding the privacy of our students, parents, guardians, educators, and community members. In compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), Act No. 4 of 2013 of South Africa, this policy outlines how we collect, process, store, and secure your personal information.

2. Information Security

We take data security extremely seriously. Mfundo Thuto Secondary School has implemented robust technical, physical, and administrative measures to secure all collected records against loss, misuse, unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction.

3. What Information We Collect

In the course of delivering education and running administrative operations, we process the following categories of personal information:

• Learner Information: Names, birth certificates/ID numbers, academic performance records, attendance, discipline details, and healthcare disclosures.
• Parent/Guardian Information: Names, ID numbers, phone numbers, email addresses, residential addresses, and financial info for fee assessment.
• Online Subscribers: Email addresses provided voluntarily when subscribing to the school newsletter and news alert updates on our portal.

4. Purpose of Processing

We only process personal information for legitimate purposes relevant to our educational services, including:

• Facilitating student registration, admissions, and academic administration.
• Managing parent communications, academic progress updates, and meeting invitations.
• Sending immediate notifications for safety, announcements, or newsletter alerts to registered subscribers.
• Complying with statutory reporting requirements to the Free State Department of Education (DBE).

5. Information Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or lease personal information to third parties. Personal data is strictly kept confidential and only shared under the following conditions:

• To the Department of Basic Education as mandated by the South African Schools Act (SASA).
• To third-party verified service providers (like secure cloud hosting services) who operate under strict non-disclosure and data privacy agreements.
• Where required by law, court order, or to protect the vital interests and safety of our learners.

6. Your Rights

As a data subject, you have the following rights under POPIA:

• Access: The right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Rectification: The right to request updates or corrections to outdated or inaccurate information.
• Deletion: The right to request the erasure of your personal data where it is no longer required for legal or contractual purposes.
• Withdraw Consent: The right to unsubscribe from our newsletter communications at any time.

7. Information Officer

The Information Officer of Mfundo Thuto Secondary School is the school Principal. If you have any inquiries, complaints, or wishes to request details about your information, please contact: