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[school-discuss] Attempts to bridge the 'digital divide' could lead Africa down acostly path (fwd)

Forwarding an interesting message. FN

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id21 News Release

Attempts to bridge the 'digital divide' could lead Africa down a costly path 

Poor planning, expensive software and under-utilisation make computers a costly mistake for some African schools. Research published by id21 Insights Education shows that the yearly cost of supplying and maintaining one African school with 10 second-hand computers, software and technical support could be as high as the cost of 2000 text books or 3.6 teachers. Good planning and utilisation - such as making computers available for community use outside school hours - and free 'open source' software however, can lower costs dramatically.

The publication, which is guest edited by Yusuf Sayed, former deputy director of the Centre for International Education, University of Sussex, raises questions about the use of information communication technologies for education in developing countries, including the suitability of proprietary software, such as Microsoft's, for which users must normally buy a licence, and cannot modify to their own needs.  Sayed comments that open source software and operating systems such as Linux, which are free to use and allow users to view and adapt the underlying source code, are a 'practical way forward for many developing countries and pose serious challenges to the monopoly of large software firms'.

Sayed's comments are timely as they coincide with a heated debate in Africa following the South African government's acceptance last year of free Microsoft software for use in its schools. The government's agreement with Microsoft stood at odds with its own Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) recommendation that open source software 'has the potential to empower people in ways that proprietary software simply does not allow'. NACI's recommendations were recently paraphrased in a proposed strategy published this January by the South African government's Information Technology Officers' Council, which adds that because open source software 'offers people the freedom to probe, modify, learn from and customise the software to suit their needs' it can be 'an especially useful tool to allow developing countries to leapfrog into the information age'.  

id21's publication of Insights Education was welcomed by Tony Roberts, Executive Director of the charity Computer Aid International, the largest not-for-profit provider of refurbished Pentium PCs to schools in developing countries. For Roberts, the issue is not just about nurturing African ICT expertise, but also a simple question of cost. 'It is a fact' Roberts commented, 'that there is no Ministry of Education anywhere on the continent of Africa that can afford to buy licensed copies of Microsoft software. The only options are to use Microsoft unlicensed (most common) to use Linux (increasingly common) or to beg the local Microsoft representative for a few charity handouts (least common)'.

This is precisely why Computer Aid has recently established a partnership with the newly launched Open Source Foundation for Africa to showcase low cost, open source ICT solutions at a series of conferences and exhibitions across Africa in 2003. 'We cannot allow the digital revolution,' Roberts comments, 'to be yet another technological revolution which entirely leaves Africa behind and further entrenches underdevelopment'.

ENDS

For more information contact Sally Gainsbury, id21 Research Editor, on +44 (0) 1273 877305 or s.gainsbury@ids.ac.uk

Notes for Editors

*	Insights Education, published by id21, a UK Department for International Development-funded research reporting service, can be found online at http://www.id21.org/insights/insights-ed01/index.html
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*	The South African National Advisory Council on Innovation document Open Software & Open Standards in South Africa: A Critical Issue for Addressing the Digital Divide can be found at http://www.naci.org.za/docs/opensource.html . The extract cited here is taken from page 12
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*	The South African Government Information Technology Officers' Council document Using Open Source Software in the South African Government: A Proposed Strategy can be found at http://www.oss.gov.za/docs/OSS_Strategy_v3.pdf The extract cited here is taken from page 8-9
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*	Further information about the Open Source Foundation for Africa can be found at their website http://osfa.allafrica.com/
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*	Further information about Computer Aid International can be found at their website http://www.computeraid.org/
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*	Further useful information on the digital divide may be found at http://www.bridges.org
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*	id21 is a fast-track research reporting service funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). id21's website http://www.id21.org provides instant access to a fully-searchable database of over 2000 reports on current social, economic, education and health research on developing and middle income countries. To subscribe to periodic email alerts on new research visit http://www.id21.org/id21-email/email.html
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*	id21 publishes its thematic review Insights - available in print and online every two months. Forthcoming issues include chronic poverty, water, sanitation and hygiene, and the private health sector. For subscription details and back issues visit http://www.id21.org/insights/index.html
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*	To receive further id21 news releases by fax, post or email, send your details to Sally Gainsbury, id21 Research Editor, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RE, UK. Telephone: +44 (0) 1273 877305; Fax: +44 (0) 1273 877335; Email: s.gainsbury@ids.ac.uk 




Research Editor
id21 at the Institute of Development Studies (Charitable Company No. 877338)
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9RE, UK
T: +44 (0) 1273 87 7305
F: +44 (0) 1273 87 7335

<S.Gainsbury@ids.ac.uk> 
<id21Press@ids.ac.uk>

http://www.id21.org




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