The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has published a draft revision of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) for History, signaling a significant change in how history will be taught in South African schools. The draft, now open for public comment, proposes broader, more inclusive historical content spanning grades 4 to 12.
What is changing in the curriculum?
The revised framework gives priority to African history and civilizations, including pre-colonial societies, empires, and trade networks. It also places greater importance on local and community history, colonization and its impact on Africa, South Africa's liberation struggle and democracy and post-1994 governance.
The DBE says the curriculum is designed to move beyond rote learning to focus on historical investigation and interpretation. “The draft defines school history in terms of investigation, evidence, interpretation and critical engagement with the past,” the department said.
How will the African perspective be included?
According to the IOL report, a central feature of the draft is the emphasis on teaching history from an African vantage point. The revised framework incorporates world history as well as African history, heritage and local history, while incorporating oral history to reclaim perspectives that were previously marginalised.
Learners will engage with indigenous knowledge systems, community-based narratives and oral testimonies. The department has confirmed that traditional written archives, including colonial and apartheid-era records, will remain part of the curriculum.
What could be given less emphasis?
Although the draft does not explicitly remove existing themes, the rebalancing of content is likely to reduce the relative weight of standalone European historical case studies, US-centric themes, data-based teaching focused on individual personalities, and Eurocentric quest narratives presented without African context.
The DBE notes that global history remains part of the curriculum, indicating that these subjects are being reestablished rather than removed.
Will this curriculum be finalized?
The DBE has stressed that the curriculum will remain in draft format and may be subject to change following public consultation.
“The documents currently in the public domain are draft curriculum documents. The purpose of publication is to enable structured public participation,” the department said. Educators, members of the public and stakeholders have been invited to submit comments ahead of this month's deadline.