www.public-software.in
Public Software for the Public Sector
Why FOSS
Why FOSS ??
Free software is software which anybody has the freedom to use, study, modify and share. It is also usually available gratis (no cost) but not always. It is our submission that Governments should prefer free software over proprietary(private) software, which the user does not have the freedom to share or modify. This note provides supporting arguments and facts.
Click here to see a presentation on Why FOSS?
Free software is software which anybody has the freedom to use, study, modify and share. It is also usually available gratis (no cost) but not always. It is our submission that Governments should prefer free software over proprietary(private) software, which the user does not have the freedom to share or modify. This note provides supporting arguments and facts.
Click here to see a presentation on Why FOSS?
Click here to see a presentation on Why FOSS?
Best use of limited resources – the economics of free software
Free software does not forbid selling and buying copies, but it means that the school system, after acquiring a copy, is free to make more and redistribute them - for instance, to all the schools. The schools do not need to pay for permission to use these copies. This creates the opportunity for great cost savings. In developing countries like India, there is really no reason to spend public money on proprietary software when equivalent free software is available.
The social argument for free software
“Samudaya” software – the social argument for free software Free software is created and modified by communities of students, volunteers, employees and entrepreneurs working together in a spirit of collaboration, while proprietary software is produced by business organisations only. Most of the free software has been produced in this collaborative manner by people acting in a spirit of contribution and collaboration across the world. Hence free software can also be called “Samudaya software”.
The pedagogical argument for free software
“Constructivist approach to learning” The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005, produced by NCERT emphasises that learning happens when the learner actively participates in the process of learning and not when the learner is a passive recipient of knowledge as a finished product. This is applicable to computer related learning as well. Software can be really learnt only when the learner actually is able to modify the code, write software, and develop applications.
Software as a public good
Since Governments function on the same principles of free software - transparency/openness, putting public and community interest over private interest, public software should be actively promoted within the public (Government) system and specially the education system. Proprietary software functions on principles of competition, non-transparency / closedness and 'for-profit' and these are more aligned to the business world than to the Government sector.
What we request from the Government
The IT policies of the Government of India and of some state governments specifically recommend that free and open source software should be the preferred option for Governments, but this recommendation needs to be comprehensively implemented. We submit that the Education department must make a clear choice in favour of free software in its pioneering and ambitious program to adopt ICTs in schools. In fact this choice should be made while purchasing computers for all Government departments.
The IT policies of the Government of India and of some state governments specifically recommend that free and open source software should be the preferred option for Governments, but this recommendation needs to be comprehensively implemented. We submit that the Education department must make a clear choice in favour of free software in its pioneering and ambitious program to adopt ICTs in schools. In fact this choice should be made while purchasing computers for all Government departments.
What support can the Free Software Movement offer to the Government?
In Kerala and in other states, Governments have worked with civil society organisations associated with the Free software movement to create local networks of software developers, trainers and support staff. If we look at Gujarat in specific the Free software movement has sown its seeds quiet well (for example the GNU/Linux operating system has already been developed in Gujarati by Gujarat based organizations) and there are many organisations who can work to support the efforts of the Government in promoting the use and creation of Free software, local language software.
In Kerala and in other states, Governments have worked with civil society organisations associated with the Free software movement to create local networks of software developers, trainers and support staff. If we look at Gujarat in specific the Free software movement has sown its seeds quiet well (for example the GNU/Linux operating system has already been developed in Gujarati by Gujarat based organizations) and there are many organisations who can work to support the efforts of the Government in promoting the use and creation of Free software, local language software.
Security
Click here to read about the security issues
Why FOSS is not yet popular?
However there are also several obstacles in the adoption and promotion of FOSS, including by the public sector. These include issues relating to support and maintenance, user training as well as 'user friendliness' of the applications. However a much larger obstacle is the general lack of awareness about the concept of FOSS and existence of FOSS applications. Just as Xerox is equated to photocopying, software for most users only means Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office.
