SOUTH AFRICA’s proposed new school history curriculum is set to place stronger emphasis on African history, local experiences and critical thinking skills.
This comes as the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has published a draft version of the revised Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for History, now open for public comment, outlining a move toward broader, more inclusive historical content.
It’s worth noting that it is not clear what exactly will be removed from the curriculum, but the shift could reshape how pupils understand the past, specifically through a South African and African lens from primary school through to matric.
What will be taught
Under the draft, history teaching across Grades 4 to 12 will be structured to prioritise the following:
- African history and civilisations, including pre-colonial societies, kingdoms and trade networks
- Local and community history, which is expected to encourage learners to engage with heritage and oral traditions
- Colonisation and its impact on Africa, which will be examined within a wider global context
- South Africa’s liberation struggle, with a deeper focus on internal resistance and diverse voices
- Democracy and post-1994 South Africa, exploring governance, rights and ongoing challenges
- The DBE says the curriculum is designed to move beyond role learning, instead focusing on historical enquiry and interpretation.
“The draft defines school History in terms of enquiry, evidence, interpretation and critical engagement with the past,” the department said in its official statement.
Greater focus on African perspectives
A key feature of the draft is its emphasis on teaching history from an African vantage point.
According to the DBE, the revised framework incorporates “African history, heritage and local history” alongside world history, while also introducing oral history to “recover perspectives that were previously marginalised”.
This means learners will increasingly engage with indigenous knowledge systems, community-based narratives and first-hand accounts and oral testimonies.
The department has stressed that traditional written archives, including colonial and apartheid-era records, will still form part of the curriculum.
Meanwhile, The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) notes the release of the draft History curriculum for Grades 4 to 12 for public comment as a progressive and timely intervention in strengthening the education system.
SADTU has long advocated for the decolonisation of education and the History curriculum. For far too long, History in South Africa has been taught from a colonial, Eurocentric perspective while ignoring the African perspective. We hope the draft History curriculum is a step towards addressing this imbalance.
SADTU has not only called for a history curriculum with an African perspective but has also advocated for the subject to be made compulsory in schools.
This is to foster a national identity, social cohesion, encourage the understanding of diverse cultures and societies and to help learners understand and appreciate the world around them and to provide a sense of identity, empathy, and critical thinking.
SADTU will submit its comments on the draft and will ensure that the final curriculum is responsive, balanced, and reflective of the aspirations of South Africans.
SADTU remains committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to advance quality public education and to ensure that History education contributes to building a just, equitable, and united South Africa.
