A ministerial task team has recommended that history be taught as a compulsory subject in high school.
The History Ministerial Task Team (MTT), appointed by Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga in 2015, undertook a comparative case study on compulsory History in 13 countries, and concluded that the subject should be rolled out incrementally in schools from 2023.
After almost three years, the team's report was released on Thursday.
The team recommended that history be introduced as a compulsory subject between Grades 10 and 12, replacing Life Orientation, which should remain compulsory only until Grade 9.
It suggested that the process be phased in incrementally between 2023 and 2025. This will also mean that the time learners spend in class increase from 27.5 hours to 29.5 hours per week.
Matric learners will also be expected to write an additional two final year examination papers: Paper 1 focusing on African history, and Paper 2 focusing on international history.
It recommended that the department use the next five years to build the curriculum.