A government proposal to overhaul South Africa’s school history curriculum has triggered fierce debate over which historical events should be taught, with critics warning that key colonial-period topics may be removed while supporters argue for a more African-centred narrative.
The History Ministerial Task Team (MTT) presented its draft plan to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, proposing significant changes to history teaching from Grades 4 to 12. The revision seeks to shift focus from what the team describes as Eurocentric content towards African perspectives, pre-colonial societies and resistance movements.
What would change
Under the proposed curriculum, learners would be introduced from early grades to African societies before colonisation, oral traditions, archaeological evidence, labour history and the contributions of women and communities often excluded from mainstream historical narratives.
The curriculum would place greater attention on land dispossession, inequality and liberation struggles, with content adapted to suit different grade levels.
However, the proposal has raised concerns about which existing topics might be reduced or removed. The Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK) has claimed that key events in Afrikaner history face exclusion or significant reduction, including the Great Trek, the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck in 1652, the Battle of Blood River and aspects of the Anglo-Boer War.
Prof Nomalanga Mkhize, a task team member, told the committee the new curriculum aimed to give learners a fuller understanding of South Africa’s past by including perspectives that have been marginalised.
Political responses divided
Most committee members supported the proposed changes, arguing that the current curriculum fails to reflect the country’s full history. Several MPs said learners must be taught what they called the truth about colonialism and land dispossession to understand present-day inequalities.
Multiple parties called for history to become compulsory beyond Grade 9, arguing the subject builds identity, critical thinking and responsible citizenship.
The Democratic Alliance opposed making history compulsory in Grades 10 to 12, saying learners should retain freedom to choose subjects supporting their career goals, particularly in science and technology fields.
Strong opposition from cultural groups
Dr Danie Langner, managing director of the FAK, issued a strongly worded statement calling the proposed changes an attack on historical truth.
“History cannot be diminished, distorted or removed to drive a political ideology at the expense of academic balance and knowledge transfer,” Langner said.
He argued that removing events such as the Great Trek would deprive learners of understanding 19th-century world politics, colonial dynamics and the emergence of early republican traditions in southern Africa.
“The Great Trek was not a beautiful myth or an outpouring of power lust, but a complex reaction to British imperialism, unsafe border areas and a struggle for self-determination. To reduce this event to a one-sided moral judgement deprives learners of understanding,” Langner said.
He said the Anglo-Boer War cannot be written out of history books, noting it involved more than 48 000 deaths in concentration camps, mostly women and children, and more than 30 000 destroyed farms and homes.
Barry Müller, the FAK’s head of community, history and ad hoc projects, said key events are critical for understanding the development of languages, cultures, customs, traditions, faith, communities and state formation.
“A curriculum in which one piece of history is placed above another does not create informed citizens. It cultivates a lost generation that cannot understand their own country’s complex story or discover their identity within it,” Müller said.
Implementation concerns
Committee members raised questions about who would develop the final content, how fairness and balance would be ensured, and whether teachers and schools are ready for such changes.
Concerns were noted about possible pressure on learners if history becomes an additional compulsory subject, particularly regarding workload and available teaching periods.
The task team acknowledged these concerns, saying proper teacher training and new textbooks aligned with the updated content would be essential for successful implementation.
Public participation process
The Department of Basic Education outlined a multi-stage process before any curriculum changes take effect.
The draft will first be sent to Umalusi, the Council for Quality Assurance in Education and Further Training, for review. Following this assessment, the draft is expected to be released for public comment by mid-year 2026.
The task team said the process includes public consultation and expert input to ensure the curriculum is fair and balanced. Once public feedback is gathered, it will be used to finalise the curriculum before formal approval and introduction in schools.
The timeline for implementation has not been specified, but officials acknowledged that developing new textbooks, training teachers and ensuring schools have necessary resources would require significant preparation time.
Call for public engagement
The FAK and other organisations have urged parents, teachers, academics and civil society groups to participate actively in the public consultation process.
“Public participation is not a formality – it is the foundation of democracy. Silence today means we have no say tomorrow over what our children learn at school,” Müller said.
The portfolio committee is expected to continue engaging on the proposal as the review and consultation process moves forward.
The debate reflects broader tensions over how South Africa’s complex history should be taught, with competing visions of which narratives deserve prominence in shaping the understanding of future generations.
- The call for comment opened on publication in the Gazette on 20 March and closes 30 days from the date of publication of the Notice (i.e. 19 April 2026). Interested persons are invited to submit comments clearly marked for the specific CAPS document and page number. Comments may be submitted as follows: to the Director-General, for the attention of Florence Modipa, Chief Education Specialist: Curriculum Policy, Department of Basic Education, 222 Struben Street, Pretoria, 0001; or to the Director-General, for the attention of Florence Modipa, Department of Basic Education, Private Bag X895, Pretoria, 0001; or by email to modipa.f@dbe.gov.za
