[Fsf Education] GNU/Linux in Schools [Was: Re: [Fsf-india] Peruvian Bill and its response]

[Khuzaima A. Lakdawala]

On Wed, 15 May 2002 11:19:07 +0530, CK Raju <ckraju@zyberway.com> wrote:

> Peru deserves a very high position, as is evident from the response, its 
> Congressman gave to the queries posed by Microsoft.
> 
> The response is at
> http://www.online.ie/technology/viewer.adp?article=1733032

The following para from the Congressman's letter is quite relevant to
our ongoing effort to introduce GNU/Linux in schools in Kerala:

                  In fact Mexico has gone into reverse with                   
                  the Red Escolar (Schools Network) project.                  
                  This is due precisely to the fact that the                  
                  driving forces behind the Mexican project                   
                  used license costs as their main argument,                  
                  instead of the other reasons specified in                   
                  our project, which are far more essential.                  
                  Because of this conceptual mistake, and as                  
                  a result of the lack of effective support                   
                  from the SEP (Secretary of State for                        
                  Public Education), the assumption was made                  
                  that to implant free software in schools                    
                  it would be enough to drop their software                   
                  budget and send them a CD ROM with Gnu/                     
                  Linux instead. Of course this failed, and                   
                  it couldn't have been otherwise, just as                    
                  school laboratories fail when they use                      
                  proprietary software and have no budget                     
                  for implementation and maintenance. That's                  
                  exactly why our bill is not limited to                      
                  making the use of free software mandatory,                  
                  but recognizes the need to create a viable                  
                  migration plan, in which the State                          
                  undertakes the technical transition in an                   
                  orderly way in order to then enjoy the                      
                  advantages of free software.                                

We have to be *extremely* careful not to make the same mistakes that
the Mexicans made in their failed attempt to introduce GNU/Linux in
schools without laying the appropriate foundation or ensuring
continuous support.

If the Director of Public Instructions, Kerala, is "interested" in
free software, then we must first request him to consider introducing
the simple philosophy of free software in the school curriculum. Some
people might protest and say that we cannot assume that high school
students will be able to understand the philosophy of free
software. That would be a wrong assumption. There is nothing
complicated about the philosophy of free software. It is a simple
matter of rights, ethics and morality. High school civics courses have
similar topics.

Introducing GNU/Linux in schools without doing, or trying to do, the
above would be like putting the proverbial cart before the horse.

Please keep in mind that there are two scenarios pertaining to
introducing GNU/Linux -- or any free software for that matter -- in
any environment:

  1. Introduce the software and *hope* that the users will soon
     appreciate the underlying message of software freedom and its
     benefits. If, in the mean time, they find some compelling
     technical or economic reason to switch to non-free software, they
     will.

  2. Educate the prospective users about software freedom and make
     them *ask* you for free software! People who adopt free software
     in this manner will stick with it permanently.

To summarize, our goal should be to create an environment wherein
people (including schools) *ask* for free software, rather than just
*giving* them free software and telling them, somewhat patronizingly,
that it is good for them!

-- 
Khuzaima A. Lakdawala