Privacy Notice

Introduction

The National Department of Basic Education is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Statement of Privacy applies to the eCares site and governs data collection and usage. By using the eCares site, you consent to the data practices described in this statement.

Collection of your Personal Information

National Department of Basic Education collects personally identifiable information, such as your email address, name, home or work address or telephone number. National Department of Basic Education also collects anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as your role, qualification and other information.

There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by National Department of Basic Education. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring website addresses. This information is used by National Department of Basic Education for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the eCares site.

National Department of Basic Education encourages you to review the privacy statements of Web sites you choose to link to from National Department of Basic Education so that you can understand how those Web sites collect, use and share your information. National Department of Basic Education is not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on Web sites outside of the National Department of Basic Education and National Department of Basic Education family of Web sites.

Use of your Personal Information

National Department of Basic Education collects and uses your personal information to operate the eCares site and deliver the services you have requested. National Department of Basic Education also uses your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services available from National Department of Basic Education and its affiliates. National Department of Basic Education may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

National Department of Basic Education does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties. National Department of Basic Education may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, National Department of Basic Education may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to National Department of Basic Education, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

National Department of Basic Education does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.

National Department of Basic Education Web sites will disclose your personal information, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on National Department of Basic Education or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of National Department of Basic Education; and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of National Department of Basic Education, or the public.

Use of Cookies

The eCares Web site use "cookies" to help you personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the Web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you register with eCares site or services, a cookie helps National Department of Basic Education to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information. When you return to the same site, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the features that you customized.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the National Department of Basic Education services or Web sites you visit.

Security of your Personal Information

National Department of Basic Education secures your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. National Department of Basic Education secures the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information transmitted to other Web sites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

Changes to this Statement

National Department of Basic Education will occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect company and customer feedback. National Department of Basic Education encourages you to periodically review this Statement to be informed of how National Department of Basic Education is protecting your information.

Contact Information

National Department of Basic Education welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy. If you believe that National Department of Basic Education has not adhered to this Statement, please contact National Department of Basic Education at webmaster@doe.gov.co.za. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.