History be made a compulsory subject

The ministerial task team which was set up by South Africa’s Basic Education Minister Angie Mothsekga has recommended that history be made a compulsory subject for pupils from grade 10 to grade 12. In its report, the team has recommended history to be phased in from 2023 with the process leading to the phasing out of life orientation which is compulsory currently. But the plan has its critics. Some fear that history will be abused as a political propaganda tool. For example, in Zimbabwe the history syllabus in government schools is reportedly skewed in favour of the ruling Zanu-PF. The task team conducted research on India‚ Rwanda‚ Zimbabwe‚ Nigeria‚ China‚ Tanzania‚ Russia and Brazil to earlier international research.To help us answer those questions we are joined by:• Prof Linda Chisholm Centre for Education Rights and Transformation University of Johannesburg • Mary MetcalfSenior Research Associate University of Johannesburg • Nathaniel Lee National RepresentativeProfessional Educators Union