Linux made compulsory in India

By  | 9/17/2007 | Filed under: Public Policy, Technology

For a moment, consider the scale of education in India. Then, read this article:

The Director of Public Instruction (DPI) has issued orders making free software compulsory. It says Linux Operating System should be used for IT education in eighth, ninth and tenth standards.

tux.gifThis is huge for a huge country making a huge investment in IT. Big stuff.

I offer a question for discussion: When free software becomes mandatory, is it still what GNU founder Richard Stallman would term “free as in freedom?”

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About

Dr. John Moravec is a faculty member in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development and the Innovation Studies/Master of Liberal Studies graduate programs at the University of Minnesota. He is the principal of Education Futures LLC; a co-founder of the Horizon Forum, a roundtable on the future of education at all levels; and is the editor of Education Futures. He can be emailed at john@educationfutures.com.

http://www.educationfutures.com/john

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2 Responses to Linux made compulsory in India

  1. Nipon Saikia on 9/28/2007 at 20:24

    This concern is genuin. But I guess, by making linux compulsory the government is making a coscious effort to enable the students (read the future generation) less dependant upon monopolistic regimes like the Red Giant. Because if linux is about something, it is free thinking. Once the people get the best of both the worlds, then they will really be able to decide for themselves what is best, or what is best for any geven task.

  2. Truth Seeker » Anche l'India si unisce on 10/1/2007 at 9:00

    [...] indiana potrebbe segnare una svolta per le ambizioni di Linux e del movimento del software libero: investimenti massicci nel campo dell’istruzione spingeranno sempre più giovani a prendere dimestichezza e [...]

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