http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Aug31/0,4670,IndiaWindowsvsLinux,00.html
India State to Dump Windows for Linux Thursday, August 31, 2006
COCHIN, India — A southern Indian state plans to switch all school computers from Microsoft Windows to the free Linux operating system, an official said Thursday.
The changeover on computers used in some 12,500 high schools in the state of Kerala is set for Friday, and teachers are being trained on the new software, said the state's education minister, M.A. Baby.
The state is ruled by communist politicians and its top elected official, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, has long been a supporter of free software, railing against the dominance of Microsoft's Windows when he was a state legislator.
However, Baby insisted that the state government has no grudge against Microsoft specifically.
But Achuthanandan was keen to develop the state as a"free and open software systems destination,"Baby told The Associated Press.
"It is our stated policy that only free software should be used for IT education in Kerala's schools. The government is introducing Linux based software as tools to teach various subjects,"Baby told the Associated Press on Thursday.
The decision to switch to Linux came after free software guru Richard Stallman, founder of the open-source GNU software project, visited Kerala two weeks ago, and persuaded officials to discard proprietary software, such as Microsoft, at state-run schools, Baby said.
Despite the denials that Microsoft was the target, opposition leader M.A. Shahnawaz, of the Congress party, said he believed the decision was based on the communists'opposition to the software giant's products.
He cited the communists'opposition to a Microsoft-supported computer training program that the Congress party enacted in 2002 when it ruled the state.
"I think schools should be given the option to choose whether teachers are to be trained in Linux systems or Microsoft,"Shahnawaz said.
This report is full of half-truths and non-truths:
On Fri, 2006-09-01 at 00:48 +0530, Frederick Noronha wrote:
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Aug31/0,4670,IndiaWindowsvsLinux,00.html
The changeover on computers used in some 12,500 high schools in the state of Kerala is set for Friday, and teachers are being trained on the new software, said the state's education minister, M.A. Baby.
The change over has happened in almost half the schools last year itself. Eighth standard changed the year before last. The new Supplement that was brought out to enable the change clearly states in its preface that IT education will now use Free Software. It is unimaginable that the switch takes place one fine morning in the middle of a school year!
The decision to switch to Linux came after free software guru Richard Stallman, founder of the open-source GNU software project, visited Kerala two weeks ago, and persuaded officials to discard proprietary software, such as Microsoft, at state-run schools, Baby said.
The IT@School project had already decided to switch to Free Software, and, as mentioned above, a large number of schools had already made the switch before Stallman came here.
Despite the denials that Microsoft was the target, opposition leader M.A. Shahnawaz, of the Congress party, said he believed the decision was based on the communists'opposition to the software giant's products.
Interestingly, the decision had already been taken before the new ministry took charge, though it was the leftist teachers union and the present Chief Minister (the then opposition leader) that had put their weight behind the move and made it possible.
He cited the communists'opposition to a Microsoft-supported computer training program that the Congress party enacted in 2002 when it ruled the state.
It was a training programme that was supported by Intel and Microsoft, and the opposition first came from the FS supporters. The opposition was not just because it was supported by Microsoft, but because it promoted Microsoft software and Intel products explicitly. This opposition should be supported by anyone who believes in maintaining ethical standards in education.
"I think schools should be given the option to choose whether teachers are to be trained in Linux systems or Microsoft,"Shahnawaz said.
As though they are two different companies!
Best
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Frederick Noronha -
V. Sasi Kumar