Rethinking the Curriculum: Equity, Relevance and the Future of Education in South Africa
South Africa’s curriculum has come a long way since apartheid, but persistent inequalities, language barriers and skills mismatches mean systemic reform is needed. This article examines the current curriculum landscape, main challenges, and practical recommendations to build an inclusive, future-ready education system. Slug: rethinking-curriculum-south-africa Tags: education, curriculum, South Africa, policy, equity, teacher-training, early-childhood, TVET, multilingualism Introduction South Africa’s curriculum journey reflects the country’s broader social and political transformation: from an intentionally unequal apartheid system to an aspirational, rights-based education model. Over the past three decades policy has moved through outcomes-based experiments to the current Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS). Yet many learners still face large gaps in learning outcomes, access and opportunity. If South Africa is to meet its development and employment goals, curric...