The Department of Basic Education says it is aware of the concerns regarding the review of the history curriculum for schools, and has emphasized that the current comment period offers precisely the opportunity to raise these concerns. (Photo: Unsplash)
The Department of Basic Education says it is aware of the concerns regarding the review of the history curriculum for schools, and has emphasized that the current comment period offers precisely the opportunity to raise these concerns.
Stakeholders and the public have until 19 April to comment on the draft curricula for the respective grades.
“The department welcomes substantive submissions on scope, balance, content coverage, sequencing, assessment, historical framework and any other aspect of the concept,” the department said in a statement.
This follows after the draft on March 20 in the Government Gazette was published, as previously reported in History Curriculum amended: ‘Ideology pushes content aside’.
According to the department, the publication in the Government Gazette part of a longer review process that has been ongoing since 2019.
At the time, a ministerial task force was appointed to review the curriculum, hold provincial consultations and develop a new framework for history education. This process included consultations in all nine provinces during 2023 and 2024, after which the draft documents were presented to various structures for comment and approval in 2025.
The department says the proposed curriculum aims to develop “disciplinary knowledge and skills in history”, with a focus on investigation, evidence, interpretation and critical engagement with the past.
The proposed curriculum further states that it provides for the study of ancient and modern history, as well as the use of historical and archaeological sources to develop historical thinking and consciousness.
Siviwe Gwarube, Minister of Basic Education. (Photo: Elisma van der Watt/ Maroela Media)
According to the department, the underlying framework includes a wide range of fields, including historiography, material culture and archaeology, African and world history, heritage and local history, labor and gender history as well as pedagogy and assessment.
It was also emphasized that oral history was included to “broaden the evidence base and recover perspectives that were previously marginalized”, while written sources – including colonial and apartheid archives – are still considered important historical sources, provided they are approached critically.
The draft curriculum covers three phases, namely gr. 4 to gr. 6, gr. 7 to gr. 9 and gr. 10 to gr. 12, and can be viewed here.
Stakeholders are requested to clearly mark their input according to the relevant CAPS document and page number, and submit it to the department in writing or by e-mail. Details in this regard can be found here.
The department says public participation will play a key role in the final consideration and possible adaptation of the proposed curriculum.
(Archive photo: Pixabay)
‘Moving towards an Africa-centric approach’
Maroela Media previously reported that the proposed amendment to the history curriculum for schools means sweeping changes to what South African learners learn about the past, with a clear “move towards an African-centric approach”.
According to the draft plan, several well-known themes and historical figures will be deleted from the curriculum. This includes, among other things, that matriculants no longer remember international civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X will not study.
In lower grades, the Anglo-Boer War in terms of the proposed amendments from the gr. 10 curriculum removed, while the French Revolution also disappears. In its place, the beginning and end of ancient African empires, including the empire of Mali as a case study, will be treated. The achievements of African people since ancient times will replace the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 to 1902.
Regarding the period before 1994, the document states that the history curriculum for schools was centered around the experiences and achievements of white people, mainly men. According to the document, the narrative began with the arrival of Dutch traders under Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 and the establishment of a post at the Cape of Good Hope, followed by the British takeover of the Cape Colony and conflict that culminated in the Great Trek to what settlers considered an “empty” interior.