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Displaying the 30 latest comments.
Submitted | first-name | support | concern | message |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2026-05-06 16:58:08 +02:00 | Jane | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | You can't just focus on one aspect of history and ignore the world. Include African history but don't rely on oral hearsay and incorporate world history. African history needs to be read in conjunction with world history. Stop dumbing down our students, feeling sorry for S Africa and expecting everyone else to do so too |
2026-05-06 16:57:03 +02:00 | Angelo | Not fully | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | African history must be studied but to just totally ignore what happened in the rest of the world is just crazy. I see this being yet another propaganda tool for the ANC. |
2026-05-06 16:56:31 +02:00 | Cornelius | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | The past can not be changed it will forever be what it was |
2026-05-06 16:56:24 +02:00 | Cornelius | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | The past can not be changed it will forever be what it was |
2026-05-06 16:56:16 +02:00 | Roy | Not fully | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | Study of history should be aimed at understanding the world we live in, what made it and how does this affect our view of the future. The history of Africa is part of the world view and deserves consideration but the shortcomings of oral history must question its dominance. |
2026-05-06 16:56:14 +02:00 | Robert | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | Stick to factual neutral balanced academically sound teaching, that is accurate unbiased and keeps the big picture perspective. Africa did not develop in a vaccum by itself. |
2026-05-06 16:55:03 +02:00 | Lauren | Not fully | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | There should be a balance to cater for all types of people and their heritages. |
2026-05-06 16:54:30 +02:00 | Alton | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | Due to the fact that it will result in a complete African centred Philosophy true history of our nation will be lost and forgotten. it is a crime to attempt to expunge the real truth from the minds of our children. What happened in South Africa from wayback, right- up until today must be told. Weather it is hurtful to some, it remains the truth and must be spoken off. |
2026-05-06 16:54:27 +02:00 | Jan | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | The curriculum becomes Africa centered instead of world centered |
2026-05-06 16:54:16 +02:00 | J | Not fully | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | I support the inclusion of broader African perspectives and previously neglected historical voices within the South African History curriculum. However, I object to the draft curriculum in its current form because several aspects risk undermining constitutional neutrality, academic balance, and critical enquiry in public education. South Africa’s Constitution requires public institutions, including schools, to uphold openness, pluralism, freedom of thought, and intellectual independence. A History curriculum should therefore expose learners to multiple interpretations of historical events and socio-economic developments, rather than presenting contested political viewpoints as settled conclusions. While I support teaching African history in greater depth, the curriculum must avoid replacing one narrow historical framework with another ideological framework. Certain sections of the draft appear to frame contemporary political concepts — including “economic freedom” and “the national question” — in language that may steer learners toward predetermined political interpretations instead of encouraging evidence-based historical analysis. History education should teach learners: * how to evaluate evidence critically; * how to distinguish between fact, interpretation, and opinion; * how to compare competing historical perspectives; and * how to engage respectfully with complexity and disagreement in a constitutional democracy. I also support the inclusion of oral traditions, memory, praise poetry, indigenous knowledge systems, archaeology, and scientific research as historical sources. However, all sources — whether written, oral, archaeological, or ideological — must be subjected to equal standards of corroboration, critical scrutiny, and academic rigor. To ensure constitutional compliance and educational integrity, I respectfully request that the Department: 1. revise politically prescriptive language within the curriculum; 2. ensure that contested socio-economic and political concepts are presented as open areas of historical debate rather than predetermined conclusions; 3. preserve balanced global and South African historical perspectives; 4. guarantee methodological rigor and evidentiary standards across all source types; 5. ensure ideological diversity among curriculum advisers and reviewers; and 6. publish an independent academic review before implementation. South Africa needs a history curriculum that strengthens national understanding while also protecting intellectual freedom, academic integrity, and democratic citizenship. We also need to ensure that the education our learners receive is recognised on a global basis, so that they are able to further their education (and work) anywhere in the world if they so please. The purpose of education in a constitutional democracy should be to develop informed, critically thinking citizens — not to promote ideological conformity. |
2026-05-06 16:53:53 +02:00 | Arthur | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | |
2026-05-06 16:52:53 +02:00 | M | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | Rewriting history is a standard Communist technique. It seeks to purge the past from people's memories and brainwash with whatever furthers the Communist revolution. This effort will instill lies and falsehoods into the minds of young people throughout South Africa. This is a huge Red Flag, and must never be allowed to happen. This is just one more indication that South Africa has been taken over by Communists. |
2026-05-06 16:52:42 +02:00 | Caroline | Not fully | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | While i agree that African heritage should be included in the history syllabus, because of Africa's diverse tribal history it may be difficult to provide a balanced/unbiased history. And other world history must be included to give children a broad knowledge of history in other countries. |
2026-05-06 16:52:40 +02:00 | Rosemary | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | |
2026-05-06 16:52:17 +02:00 | Mbongeni | Yes I do | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | |
2026-05-06 16:51:46 +02:00 | Albert | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | |
2026-05-06 16:51:15 +02:00 | Jack | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | |
2026-05-06 16:51:09 +02:00 | Jasper | No I do not | Grades 4 – 6 (Intermediate Phase) | |
2026-05-06 16:50:24 +02:00 | Mariské | No I do not | Other | History is history. You can kick and scream all you like but it happened. Truth will always prevail. |
2026-05-06 16:49:42 +02:00 | Hester | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | Oral traditions can be changed to will; it depends on the memory of the person relating it, and it can be used for political purposes. It is not necessarily the truth. And I am not saying this lightly. As an archaeologist, I have worked with African communities. An example: a family would claim a grave as that of a particular ancestor, e.g a male, who died at 73 years. After analysis it would prove that the grave was that of girl barely in her teens. This is only one of the many examples I can provide. It is just as easy to misrepresent the history of a people. Archaeology is a good basis to study history, although many sites has been ignored or destroyed by developers. DNA studies would be interesting to include, for it will prove that ALL the people, with exception of the San / Khoi-khoi are relatively recent immigrants. |
2026-05-06 16:48:50 +02:00 | Johan | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | |
2026-05-06 16:48:20 +02:00 | ESTELLE | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | |
2026-05-06 16:48:11 +02:00 | Dennis | Not fully | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | |
2026-05-06 16:47:53 +02:00 | Rob | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | The purpose of teaching history seems to have been lost in these proposals. Bare facts and dates are meaningless unless they are accompanied by an insightful analysis of the social conditions in which they arose. African history lacks any meaningful impact on the scope and direction of human development. As such it commands a relatively minor space in any history curriculum. A cursory cover of major events is required but for deeper analysis and to best use the limited time available for the expansion of children's minds, greater attention is needed to be applied, to worldwide historical events; those which led to major shifts in understanding, migration, cultural development and scientific advancement and they should form the bulk of the curriculum. |
2026-05-06 16:47:09 +02:00 | Paul | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | |
2026-05-06 16:46:03 +02:00 | Gerrit | Not fully | Other | |
2026-05-06 16:44:05 +02:00 | Llana | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | History happened and cannot be changed. IT HAPPENED. All history needs to be told for future generations to know how our country came to be. |
2026-05-06 16:43:57 +02:00 | Clifford | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | If you want to have a real education go back to the old schooling method and my input are the following 1 the government should cover the school's that children go to school free until school completion 2 the schools should be split to suit the nationality of the children 3 all schools should teach about history of the world, geography, mathematics, science, and science, basic schooling should have reading,spelling, drawing, home ethics, manners,and basic skill's 4 teacher's should be given more salary and child or student knowledge for different ages and have high grades of testing before they can become teachers 5 the school's should be aloud to run there school according to the area and economic times 6 all schools should be OEM to all races and the parents decide which school and area would they send there child to 7 classes should not be over crowded so the teachers can give more attention to each child 8 government and social development should be taught at higher levels of schooling 9 government and politics off all types not be involved in educational of children only with the school it's self and the running of the school's not the education 10 all registration of students and schools controlled by government to ensure all country laws and races are keep on all schools school funds would be charged and payed to the school as per area and ability of the people the school's running check and controlled by the government and inspections done regularly to insure safety and health and cleaned of the entire school I could write for a week but would not matter to anyone and on top of it all I am not involved with the school's so only comment on what is obvious to outsiders 11 finally every school should have transport for there area and amount of students 12 there should be basic medical help at all schools and an office where parents may discuss there children's problems this office will recommend to the school and teacher the problem's conclusion concerning the student to help the school and teachers give the student the attention required 13 correction or punishment should be allowed but only by the school's head staff after discussing the problem with the parents so that the student knows it's neutral and excepted 14 any abuse of the punishment law should be given to the government department's dealing with child abuse |
2026-05-06 16:43:41 +02:00 | Louis Steyn | Yes I do | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | One is just concerned that the other Histories, like Europe and the Americas may be overlooked. |
2026-05-06 16:42:47 +02:00 | Jaco | No I do not | General / All Grades (Overall Concerns) | I don't trust this government with anything. |
Supporters of the draft proposals generally focus on the need for social transformation and a more representative narrative of human history.
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- Correcting Historical Bias:
Supporters argue that the current curriculum remains too focused on Eurocentric frameworks and the “achievements of white people,” leaving the vast and rich history of Africa marginalized. - Recovering Silenced Voices:
By intentionally including oral history and archaeology, the new curriculum can recover the experiences of groups whose history was never recorded in traditional colonial archives, such as women and the working class. - Developing Critical Thinkers:
The shift from “rote and uncritical learning” to an enquiry-based model is seen as a way to equip students with the analytical tools to identify bias, propaganda, and ideology in any historical source. - A Broader Worldview:
Supporters point out that “African-centred” does not mean “only Africa”; it means viewing the entire world (including the Americas, Asia, and Europe) from an African vantage point to foster a global consciousness.
- Correcting Historical Bias:
Opponents and concerned groups often raise questions regarding the balance, reliability, and potential for ideological framing in the new draft.
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- Concerns over Omissions:
Many groups are concerned that by shifting the focus so heavily toward ancient African civilizations, essential elements of world history or modern South African history (such as the full scope of the Boer Republics or the Renaissance) may be under-emphasized or omitted. - Reliability of Evidence:
Critics have questioned whether relying on “memory” and oral traditions is as academically rigorous as using written records, raising concerns that this could lead to a less objective teaching of facts. - Content Overload:
There is a recurring concern among educators that the curriculum is already overburdened. Adding deep dives into archaeology and complex ancient civilizations may make it difficult for teachers to cover the necessary material in the allocated time. - Ideological Risks:
Some argue that a curriculum focused on “social transformation” risks becoming a tool for political or social engineering, rather than a neutral, academic pursuit of the past.
- Concerns over Omissions: