Schools in Kerala are expected to save Rs 3,000 crore as they have chosen the Linux-OpenSource (OS) operating system for computers being made available for teaching under a state-wide project.
“Decks have been cleared for the country’s largest ICT training for teachers, with training of over 1,50,000 primary teachers being held in Kerala. From the next academic year, we’d ply more than 2,00,000 computers in schools and each of these will be powered by the latest version of the Linux-based Free Operating System (FOSS),” says K Anvar Sadath, vice-chairman and executive director of KITE (Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education).
“If we had gone for applications of proprietary nature, each computer would have incurred at least Rs 1.5 lakh in licence fees,” he points out.
In fact, KITE has rolled out the new version, named IT@School GNU/ Linux 18.04. Based on the Ubuntu OS LTS edition, the system features several free applications customised for state school curriculum.
“More than Rs 3,000-crore savings, we feel the key advantage of going for free OS is the ability to study, share, edit and publish without restrictions. In the education sector, this dissemination value is more crucial than costs,” says Anjali Krishnan, a school teacher who is receiving the necessary training.
For Kerala, this project is a continuation of making 45,000 classrooms from Class VIII to Class X hitech, and will soon culminate in setting up high tech labs in the primary level (Class I to VI ) too.
