Keynote Address by the Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga, MP, at the 1st History RoundTable Discussion held at the DBE Conference Centre, Pretoria
Theme: “A country that does not know its History has no future”.
Programme Director
Deputy Minister
Director-General
All State Senior Officials
Non-Governmental Organisations Leadership
Universities Leadership
Organised Labour
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It gives me pleasure to address the 1st History Roundtable Discussion under the theme, “A country that does not know its History has no future”.
Programme Director, from the onset, I wish to convey our heartfelt gratitude to all attendees for making the time for this important and historic engagement.
Of paramount importance, I want to be candid with you all – we have not made a determination about the status of History as a compulsory subject as yet. Secondly, we are investigating the possibility of strengthening the History curriculum in a bid to make it compatible with the global changes and the new discoveries about the past. Our endeavours are informed by the need to recalibrate the History curriculum and to distil for our learners the most useful topics to be covered. I must emphasise that we are in no way attempting to rewrite History for the benefit of the new ruling elites. This project is not a propaganda exercise destined to shore up and buttress support for the oldest liberation movement in Africa, the ANC. As a principle, we are against the rewriting of History for the sole purpose of achieving short-term political expediency.
Programme Director, we are alive to the negative effects of a biased History curriculum. In this regard, I must declare that our intentions are noble as we believe in the wise words of the Anglo-Irish political theorist and philosopher Edmund Burke who put it succinctly a century ago when he said: “Those who don't know History are destined to repeat it.”
We are also alive to fact that, "the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed,” so eloquently said the son of the soil the late Steve Bantu Biko. Hence, the purpose of the recalibrated History curriculum must include the last bid attempt at the decolonisation of the African mind. We must without any apology remove the vestiges apartheid’s sanitised version of History. We must do so without airbrushing the actual story and multiple interpretations of the apartheid past - neither must we glorify the story of the liberation movements presenting them as an equivalent of moral virtue. In this equation the apartheid rulers will henceforth be presented as folk devils. We want, “A Nuanced Approach” to both the writing and teaching of History.
Programme Director; historians contend that our experience of the present - largely depends upon our knowledge of the past, and that, “participants in any social order must presuppose a shared memory.”
Therefore, the greatest struggle facing humanity today is, “…the struggle of memory against forgetting," so said Czech-born writer Milan Kundera.
Programme Director, we believe that through the teaching of History, we must be able to develop a shared memory of our past. Thus, be in a position to foster a deeper understanding of the triumph and disasters of both our past and the present. History should by design enable learners to be active citizens - able to engage critically with the horrendous stories of colonialism, apartheid, and the liberation struggle. This kind of knowledge will enable the 21st century generation to enrich the nascent narrative of the post-apartheid South Africa.
Programme Director, it is within this context that we converge today to deliberate on the role, importance and/ or the place of History as a subject within the basic education landscape. We are indeed a fortunate generation, in that, today, we are called upon to be midwives of keeping the memory of our past alive at all times, perhaps at all costs.
As the basic education sector, we have come to a deliberate determination that is it the schooling system that must play a key role in the preservation and remodelling of our History. In this regard, the teaching of History must empower young people with the ethos of the new South Africa as enshrined in our constitution thus cementing the project of nation building, social cohesion and reconciliation. These values must form the bedrock of a new person we seek to mould.
As previously argued, this can be done better by making young people to understand and appreciate our past. This is extremely important for two reasons; a) Young people must learn from the past - the good that must be kept alive at costs, b) They must know the mistakes of our forebears so that nobody can repeat them. This is crucial for many reasons – but just one is more important as the German philosopher Karl Marx once argued – “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” We need neither repetition.
Programme Director, educationists believe that the study of History serves a range of important functions such as enriching social, and political lives. History encourages civic responsibility and critical thinking – these are key values needed in a democratic society. The study of History creates a platform for constructive and informed debates about peace, human rights, and democratic values. We correctly believe that it can even help in the construction and understanding of one’s own personal identity.
It is indeed, a universal truth that historical perspective fosters a proper understanding of the growth of multiple and overlapping human identities. History enables us to listen to formerly subjugated voices and to redress the invisibility of the formerly marginalised groups. Fore-instance, oral History has over the centuries assisted generations to keep alive the memory of the past struggles and victories of a people. More importantly, History as a subject asks uncomfortable truths about what we think we know. It encourages us to examine in concrete terms the nature and form of the past events and how they shape debates today.
Furthermore, History provides a critical perspective on the pathways to economic development and economic growth. The insight provided by Economic History is essential for understanding the long-term development of humanity through varying and successive economic and social systems.
In the 21st century, citizens need to comprehend the nexus between global citizenship and national citizenship. It is only through History as a subject that we can promote the principles of non-racialism, non-sexism and the supremacy of democracy over anarchy. A good History book teaches political and religious tolerance thus, it has a potential to assist in a fight against the scourge of global terrorism.
In fact, the teaching of History in schools should be regarded as an excellent example of promoting good citizenship. Beyond promoting good citizenship, the study of History is a valuable resource for developing critical reasoning thus enabling original thought which will undoubtedly result in a range of social benefits.
Hence, it is imperative that the stories of our past be kept alive in the classrooms of our schools lest we forget where we come from. In this regard, we firstly need to relook at the History curriculum, and secondly we need explore how History as a subject can be used as a tool for empowering our children.
Perhaps, the subject itself must be made compulsory so that it reaches every child throughout the length and breadth of our country.
Ladies and gentlemen, the topic we are grappling with today regarding the place of History in the curriculum is an emotive issue and debates about it always take place within a highly-charged atmosphere. However this is not peculiar to South Africa. Such discussions are taking place in many other parts of both the developed democracies and developing states where History is the subject of scrutiny and reform.
Fore-instance, in 2011, the British historian, Sir David Cannadine and the Education Secretary, Michael Gove made a cogent argument to the British government calling for History as a subject to be considered compulsory alongside English, Mathematics and Physical Science. They argued that the UK was falling behind the rest of Europe because the subject is not compulsory beyond the age of 14. This was backed by research that revealed that school-leavers in England knew very little of their own History. Let alone the global historical landscape.
Another example is that of Nigeria. In 2010, the Nigerian Historical Society presented a bill before the National Assembly requesting that History be made a compulsory subject.
These examples indicate that the debate of making the study of History compulsory for all boys and girls in the schooling system is not specifically unique to South Africa.
Programme Director, in our 2015/16 Budget Speech, we made a commitment that as per the NSC Ministerial Task Team recommendations further research will be conducted on the desirability of making the teaching of History as a compulsory subject for all learners. In pursuit of this, I announced that a Ministerial Task Team will be established to look into the matter. We also announced our plan to hold this History Round-Table discussion with all relevant stakeholders.
Programme Director, it is my pleasure to announce today that we have indeed assembled the Ministerial Task Team on History (MTT). It is made up of men and women whose preoccupation is scholarly excellence in the study of History. I have a pleasure to introduce the MTT members:
- Professor Sifiso Ndlovu (Engaged at South African Democracy Education Trust, previous member of the Ministerial History Project, engaged with United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation History of Africa, including comparative curriculum in Africa as well as SADET school materials);
- Mr Jabulani Sithole (Historical Studies Lecturer, University of KwaZulu Natal);
- Dr Luli Callinicos (Former History lecturer at Wits University & Heritage consultant);
- Professor Peter Sekibakiba (Lecturer at Wits University);
- Dr Gail Weldon (Former WECD History provincial advisor & FET History CAPS writer)
- Dr Nomalanga Mkhize (Lecturer at Rhodes University); and
- Professor Albert Grundlingh (served as part of History and Archaeological Panel that was established in 2001 by the then Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal. He is currently a History lecturer at Stellenbosch University).
The Task Team will conduct continental and international research in order to be able to properly advise us on how best we can move towards the implementation of compulsory History in the FET band.
The primary aim of the Ministerial Task Team is as follows:
- To conduct research on how other countries have dealt with the introduction of compulsory History as part of citizenship education in the senior secondary school levels.
The terms of reference for the Ministerial Task Team are as follows:
a). Conduct a comparative research study on - How best to implement the introduction of compulsory History in FET phase.
b). Strengthen the content of History in the FET Band;
c). Review content in the GET Band;
d). Make proposal regarding teacher development in this area (pre-service training and in-service training);
e). Arrange public hearings on the findings and compile a report;
f). Draft the implementation and management plan with clear time frames including;
i. Alignment of the History textbooks according to the reviewed curriculum;
ii. Make recommendations on the key concerns relating to the introduction of compulsory History in the FET band, and the implications of these recommendations if implemented; and
iii. Make proposals for gazetting policy and regulations amendments emanating from this process.
iv. Compile a final report and present to the Basic Education Minister and DBE senior management.
Programme Director; allow me to sketch a historical background in as far as the curriculum of History is concerned. Between 1988 and 1993, several debates and initiatives took place regarding a new History content for schools in South Africa. One such initiative was under the auspices of the History Ad-Hoc Committee. It involved participants from the liberation movements, people’s educational movements, political parties, apartheid regime and a broad spectrum of education stakeholders. This process experienced challenges - it turned into battle between the old (apartheid regime and its remnants) and the new (ANC and its allies). The old resisted any attempts to have an inclusive History curriculum – they insisted on protecting the apartheid syllabus. The stalemate led to the dissolution of the History Ad-Hoc Committee.
Fast forward to the new South Africa, in 1995, a New History Curriculum Committee was established. The committee dealt with critical inputs from historians and History educators amongst which the critical study of History in schools was seen as the most essential and significant vehicle for citizenship education for the new South Africa. Furthermore, the committee ensured that the subject was not used by both conservatives and progressives for propaganda purposes.
I must highlight that this process also experienced some tensions over the selection of topics that were to be included in the History syllabus. As a result, it had limited impact.
In 2000, the then Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal appointed a new History and Archaeology Panel to review the History curriculum with regards to the:
- Quality of the teaching of History and evolution in schools;
- State of teacher training; and
- Quality of support materials (such as textbooks).
- Strengthening of the substance and scope of the History curriculum;
- Strengthening of teacher training; and
- Improvement of support materials. (Ministry of Education: 2002)
Flowing from the final report of the History and Archaeology Panel, the South African History Project (SAHP) was established in August 2001 to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the new History in a democratic South Africa. The Project managed to achieve its strategic aims under the direction of its CEO, Dr June Bam and the Chair of the Ministerial Committee, Professor Yonah Seleti and the committee members of prominent South African historians and academics.
Further review took place in 2009 when the National Curriculum Statement for Grades 10-12 was revised. The History Subject Statement, Learning Guidelines and Assessment were replaced by the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS). The History CAPS ensured that the following issues were strengthened in the FET History curriculum:
- A broad chronology through content of Grades 10-12 (from 17th century to the present);
- Interconnectedness between local and world events-South Africa, within Africa within the World;
- Removing repetition between Grades 7-9 and 10-12; and
- Ensuring that there is no content overload.
The content in History CAPS has been developed to ensure that learners gain an understanding of how the past has influenced the present - How do we understand our world today?
I must emphasise that our role as Government should be to implement a curriculum that is relevant not only for the market place but also for the decolonisation of the mind.
In conclusion, I end this address with the inspirational words from the late King of Botswana Kgosi Seretse Khama. He said:
“It should now be our intention to try to retrieve what we can of our past. We should write our own History books to prove that we did have a past, and that it was a past that was just as worth writing and learning about as any other. We must do this for the simple reason that a nation without a past is a lost nation, and a people without a past are a people without a soul".
I thank you!
