[Fsf-friends] Schools open ‘gates’ for Microsoft

Venkat Kumaraswamy ellakannada at yahoo.com
Sun Sep 18 11:28:12 CEST 2005


Schools open ‘gates’ for Microsoft
Saturday September 17 2005 12:11 IST 
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20050917015000&Page=R&Title=Kerala&Topic=0&

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Closing their ‘windows’ on free software, Kerala schools have clicked on Microsoft as the operating system for IT at school.

Except for two schools - Government Mappillah Higher Secondary School, Koyilandi, and Patyam Gopalan Memorial School, Vatakara - all other high schools, numbering about 2,640, have preferred to install Microsoft software while voting for its credibility and flexibility.

And with this snub on the advocates of free software, it will be curtains on the controversy Kerala witnessed following the decision to introduce IT as a subject for SSLC.

The Left parties, especially the CPM which termed it an attempt to allow Microsoft’s entry into Kerala, had extended full support to the free software movement using the event as an opportunity to underscore their resolve against MNCs.

The pro-CPM Kerala School Teachers’ Association (KSTA) had even threatened to boycott the IT practical examinations as the softexam software selected for conducting the SSLC IT practical examinations was developed on Microsoft platform.

This forced the General Education Dept to include free software also in the curriculum making it clear that from 2005-06 academic year schools will have the freedom to select between free software and Microsoft.

The IT at school project also formed a panel of experts in all districts to help school teachers in this regard.

"V. Sasi Kumar" <sasi.fsf at gmail.com> wrote:
On Sat, 2005-09-17 at 18:09 -0700, Krishna Pagadala wrote:
> Arun and others,
> Can you please comment on the following article.
> http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IER20050917015000&Page=R&Title=Kerala&Topic=0&

I am not able to access the article today. The page is asking for login.
Could you send me the article?

Best
-- 
V. Sasi Kumar 
Free Software Foundation of India


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