In most countries these days, kids start learning computers at a very early age in school and even in still developing countries, computer education is a top priority. Computers are as important part of our daily lives as food and clothes are. Computer Education is considered a very vital part of our kids education today but are we doing it right ?
The very first thing a kid learn after learning the word ‘Computers’ is, Windows. Schools teach Windows as it is a synonym to Computers. The very foundation of the computer education is owned by Microsoft and we need to do something.
Schools have to pay a large sum of money to use Windows in schools. Even after useless school discounts it still cost a fortune thus resulting in higher cost of education. On other hand Linux is free and wide adoption of Linux among schools will bring down the cost of education drastically.
Especially in still developing countries where school education is still not at the same level as compared to western countries, by using Linux, literacy rate in such countries can be improved while decreasing the overall education cost further helping in development of the country overall.
Linux is used everywhere but in education systems, the exact opposite is true. Education system needs to be neutral, a computer OS has to be taught as a computer OS and nothing more than that. I understand that one OS has to be taken as a base and alternatives are still taught but why Windows has to be the one when it is owned by a private company, filling their bank accounts with cash and gives nothing back.
Education system is too vital to depend on a private company, imagine if Microsoft goes bankrupt and vanishes tomorrow, the entire education system will be in jeopardy for what to teach.
Linux on other hand is Open and encourages sharing. A class of 50 students can use Linux and share what they do whereas in case of Windows, each student has to spend a lot of money to buy Windows and not all of them can afford to. Those students are either left behind or they can always use pirated software. This way a student is forced to use pirated software even if he don’t want to, because he is forced to use Windows in his school.
Forcing students to use windows should be a legal offense as students either have to pay money for it and if they cannot they can just deal with it or use pirated software, it is a root cause among them to use pirated software. This kind of thing is being forced on students over the world and no one even care’s about it. Linux should be the base of computer education in schools and there should be alternatives if students wants to learn other things.
One thing leads to another, if we start using Linux in our education system it can help in eradicating the Microsoft mess sooner. Linux in schools can increase the adoption rate in home users and from there Linux can start growing in the corporate world where we are already doing pretty fine.
Microsoft spend a lot of resources to maintain its global monopoly but the education system is fusing that monopoly and corruption in younger generation from the very beginning and they don’t have a slightest idea how much damage can it cause to the future world
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