Information Society Watch

Fredrick Noronha

This article by FOSS activist Fredrick Noronha gives a very practical insight into why schools in India should impart computer education based on the principles of free and open source software(FOSS). Apart from the regular reasons of cost and affordability, the ability to tweak with the source code and create new/modified versions of a particular piece of software are the main reasons why schools should actively promote deployment of FOSS. FOSS does not demand high end hardware configurations which result in lowered carbon footprints. The author speaks of specific FOSS applications which can be useful for different age groups at schools and this is something which schools would look forward to as it would serve as a practical guide. The author concludes by saying that although there are a number of FOSS tools which can be used in education, the lack of accessibility in terms of skill development and more importantly the lack of awareness of FOSS as a concept amongst educationalists is a cause for concern.

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