2 Sep
2006
2 Sep
'06
10:10 a.m.
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Hello,
A good friend of mine sent me the following piece of information. I am
quoting him verbatim here ---
- ---
About the storm in the tea cup about Kerala schools going 100%
GNU/Linux, I am cynical about the story.
1. The decision was made by the previous government, several months
back and there is absolutely no reason to make such a hue and cry
about this right now; unless you want to attract some attention of
the wrong kind.
2. The decision, AFAIK, applies to High Schools only. +2 schools have
to teach Tally, (in the commerce stream) so will stick to the
proprietary OS and/or dual boot.
3. Within the government, a massive software deployment is going on,
under the name ``Modernisation of Government Programme'', or
MGP. This is entirely M$ based, and govt. servants are provided a 7
working day training on using such exotic programmes like MS Word,
MS Excel, etc. The training includes how to type Malayalam.
How will the community counter this MGP thing?
The training is being provided by Institute of management in
Government, Kerala. Have a look at their web page - made in good
quality M$ FrontPage. (http://www.imgkerala.org/)
- ---
Regards,
BG
- --
Baishampayan Ghose <b.ghose(a)gnu.org.in>
Free Software Foundation of India
http://www.gnu.org.in/
1024D/86361B74
BB2C E244 15AD 05C5 523A 90E7 4249 3494 8636 1B74
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2 Sep
2 Sep
10:33 a.m.
On Sat, 2006-09-02 at 15:40 +0530, Baishampayan Ghose wrote:
A good friend of mine sent me the following piece of
information. I am
quoting him verbatim here ---
- ---
About the storm in the tea cup about Kerala schools going 100%
GNU/Linux, I am cynical about the story.
1. The decision was made by the previous government, several months
back and there is absolutely no reason to make such a hue and cry
about this right now; unless you want to attract some attention of
the wrong kind.
True. I think I had said this in an earlier mail. This was prompted by
the weight the leftist teachers union put behind free software.
2. The decision, AFAIK, applies to High Schools only.
+2 schools have
to teach Tally, (in the commerce stream) so will stick to the
proprietary OS and/or dual boot.
Yes. Free Software was first introduced in the eighth standard last
year. This year, it has been extended to the ninth standard, and the
next year it will be extended to the tenth. Hopefully, Free Software
will be introduced in the eleventh and twelfth standards in subsequent
years.
3. Within the government, a massive software
deployment is going on,
under the name ``Modernisation of Government Programme'', or
MGP. This is entirely M$ based, and govt. servants are provided a 7
working day training on using such exotic programmes like MS Word,
MS Excel, etc. The training includes how to type Malayalam.
Largely true. But the MGP also has some Free Software running. Arun
should know more about it.
How will the community counter this MGP thing?
We should try to influence the government. Since the programme is
already in an advanced stage, it may not be easy. But we have some hope
since the present CM supports FS.
Best
--
V. Sasi Kumar <sasi.fsf(a)gmail.com>
Free Software Foundation of India
12:51 p.m.
3. Within the
government, a massive software deployment is going on,
under the name ``Modernisation of Government Programme'', or
MGP. This is entirely M$ based, and govt. servants are provided a 7
working day training on using such exotic programmes like MS Word,
MS Excel, etc. The training includes how to type Malayalam.
Largely true. But the MGP also has some Free Software running. Arun
should know more about it. How will the
community counter this MGP thing?
We should try to influence the government. Since the programme is
already in an advanced stage, it may not be easy. But we have some hope
since the present CM supports FS. 
3 Sep
3 Sep
6:06 a.m.
Hi,
I very sorry to say that your friend is too much cynical.
First of all there is no point in linking MGP to Schools.
Secondly no one tried to create undue attention to schools project
in Kerala. Richard's meeting with Education Minister of Kerala brought
this project into media attention.
Consider following facts
1. 15,00,000 children learning about free software (philosophy and tools)
2. 16k teachers teaching about free software (20k more will join this
group soon)
3. 20-35k mahines running GNU/Linux
4. 3000 Debian GNU/Linux distribution CDs distributed across the state
for schools
5. Govt setting up teachers training and support facility for GNU/Linux
regards
arun.
6232
days inactive
6233
days old
3 comments
4 participants
participants (4)
-
Anivar Aravind -
Arun M -
Baishampayan Ghose -
V. Sasi Kumar