UK Government opposition MPs rally against IT in schools policy
Around 1 in 5 backbenchers from various parties in the UK Government have questioned the exclusion of open source software from UK schools in their response to an early day motion tabled by John Pugh MP. The motion addresses
concern for government policy which stifles innovation and locks users into high cost software.
As we’ve previously reported, the Department for Education and Skills favours the procurement of proprietary technologies from global brands (for example Microsoft) despite extensive research by BECTA showing that schools could save millions by switching to Open Source software.
Sue McGuire, School Governor and member of the Open Schools Alliance commented, “As a school governor I am concerned with the actual economics of the DfeS argument someone must be able to explain why software that is supplied free of charge is supposed to cost more than similar software from the wealthiest company in the world.”
The debate continues.
Related stories: UK MPs criticise government for blocking Open Source software in education
