The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) today submitted its input to the Department of Basic Education concerning the proposed changes to the school history curricula.
The party rejects these proposals, as they represent a continuation of a persistent process to cast the history of Western civilisation in general, and Afrikaners in particular, in a hostile light.
A country with cultural diversity should recognise and accommodate that diversity, rather than imposing a single identity on everyone.
The Freedom Front Plus, therefore, proposes that civil society organisations should be granted the right to formulate their own guidelines for the content and assessment of school history. Consequently, school governing bodies will get to decide which curriculum will be offered at a specific school.
Themes that should be covered by alternative curricula include the following South African pre-history:
Themes relating to various ancient and classical civilisations (ca 4000 BC to 500 AD).
Themes relating to pre-modern societies (ca 500 – 1600).
Themes relating to modern societies (ca 1600 – 1950).
Themes relating to contemporary societies (ca 1950 – present).
Themes relating to the specific community’s own history.
Themes relating to the history of other South African communities.
The party’s proposal offers a balanced learning experience that broadens learners’ horizons while keeping them connected to their own roots.
