CURRICULUM
Education team to seek local input on compulsory history learning
Fears have been raised about compulsory history lessons may be abused as a political propaganda tool
The Department of Basic Education appears to be forging ahead with its controversial plan to introduce history as a compulsory subject in grades 10, 11 and 12. At present, pupils take history to grade 9 and are permitted to drop it in grade 10. The plan has been criticised in some quarters, with some fearing that history will be abused as a political propaganda tool, as in Zimbabwe, where the history syllabus in government schools is reportedly biased towards the ruling Zanu-PF. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said in a written reply to a question from the DA this week that the ministerial task team appointed to consider the introduction of history as a compulsory subject had completed comparative studies and research on countries that enforced it as a subject. The task team’s final report would be released to the minister at the end of November 2017.
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