South Africa’s minister of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has released a report from a ministerial task team that recommends a major overhaul of the history curriculum at schools. Most of the debate around the report has focused on its main recommendation – to make history compulsory in the final three years of high school from 2023. 

The proposal faces steep challenges. One of the most important might be the availability of enough well-trained history teachers to meet the demand. The report acknowledges this. But it underestimates what will be needed to train new teachers. Can universities and specifically education faculties deliver? The funding crisis facing South African universities is well-reported. Less well-known is how it specifically affects education faculties tasked with training teachers.