http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=061983
Teachers have to pay through the nose for laptops by SACHIN CHATTE Ever been to one of those mega sales that offer you a 30 per cent discount and you realise too late that the prices were hiked up considerably before the discount was offered? The Goa government's scheme to offer interest-free loans to teachers to buy laptops is a bait-and-switch operation on similar lines. Although the government had announced the scheme long ago, the circular sent by the directorate of education has some very serious flaws, and the bottom line is that teachers who opt for the 'interest-free loan' could actually end up paying much more than they had bargained for. To begin with, Clause H and I of the circular state that "requisite Microsoft windows Vista operating system and MS Office software shall be supplied by GEDC". In other words, whether you like it or not, you are forced to buy Windows Vista and MS Office software, both of which are very expensive. This is akin to the "Windows tax" that you unwittingly pay when buying a computer, because most computer vendors sell their products with Microsoft Windows OEM pre-installed. The department has clearly not heard of Open Source software -- like Linux -- which are growing at a rapid pace all around the world. Software like Open Office is not only free to use and share, it can also match the features of Microsoft's MS Office, especially for personal use. But the directorate of education clearly doesn't want to give you any choice in this matter. Some members of the technical committee vehemently opposed this move to bundle the software along with the hardware. After all, the teachers are paying the full amount for what they are buying; the government is only giving them an interest-free loan -- unlike the cyberage scheme where the computers were heavily subsidised for the students. Mr Albert Gouveia, head of the IT group for National Institute of Oceanography and a vocal proponent of Open Source software says, "The reason to give laptops to teachers is either to help them teach computer subjects better or use it for their own resources in order to teach better. Now for such purposes you can learn with open source software and if you can use open source software then you can use anything. Today there is hardly any software that does not have an open source equivalent." "Use commercial software, only if you must, after paying for it," adds Albert who is a veteran in the IT field. It is clear that there is more to this issue of laptops than departmental concern for the welfare of teachers. The annexure in the circular gives various hardware options to choose from; an average person with a working knowledge of computers would be baffled by the options. But the real catch is that, no matter which option you choose, you might end up on the losing side. Consider this: if a particular brand of laptop is available in the market for Rs 40,000, how much do you suppose the government would be willing to pay for approximately 6000 laptops, taking bulk order discounts into account? The obvious answer would be, substantially less than Rs.40,000 per laptop. But that's not the way it works in government. For instance, at the lower end, the scheme offers Lenovo 3000 series N200 0769 for Rs 45,709. As we found from our market survey, a laptop with a better configuration than listed in the education department's annexure is available for Rs 38,000. The cheapest model in the market is approx. Rs 25,000 (with DOS or Linux) but in this scheme it starts from Rs 35,000. That is the case with most of the models mentioned in the departmental circular. So instead of getting a better deal because the government is buying in bulk, you actually ending up paying far more than you would have paid had you bought directly from the open market. "We were looking forward to this scheme which had got delayed endlessly, but when you look at the fine print, there isn't much the government is offering us," said one teacher on conditions of anonymity. "It is more expensive to buy it from the government than outside, instead of it being the other way round," he lamented. Like all government deals and schemes, there is more to this than meets the eye. Thursday, June 19, 2008 * * * Laptop scheme draws flak 20 Jun 2008, 0324 hrs IST,TNN MARGAO: Computer savvy teachers of educational institutions in Goa have taken the laptop scheme introduced by the state government with a pinch of salt. Leave aside the fact that the prices of computers offered by the government through the scheme are on a higher side compared to those available through dealers in the open market. The scheme has also raised eyebrows over the sincerity of the education department in the implementation of the scheme. The circular issued by the directorate of education (DoE) making the purchase of Microsoft Windows Vista operating system and the MS-office software compulsory also smacks of ulterior motives, a section of teachers TOI spoke to felt. "Why is the government hell bent on forcing the Microsoft operating system and office suite? There are ample choices of operating systems and office suites and some are totally free," one of the teachers of an aided government school remarked. A large section of teachers felt that the government was curtailing their rights in exercising their choice to buy laptops. "The government appears to have not come out of the hangover of the cyberage scheme. The authorities should bear in mind that the laptops are not being given free by the government but the money is being loaned at no interest. There are a variety of models and vendors to choose from. The government must respect every individual teacher's choice," a lecturer in a South Goa based college remarked. Proponents of Linux, an open source operating system too have expressed reservations over the motives of the government in bundling Microsoft Windows and Office software with the laptops. Linux has grown in popularity over the last few years and the number of Linux users is growing at a rapid pace in Goa too. Users of this open source operating system have also formed Linux users' groups in Goa that meet regularly to share their knowledge and experience with others. Said Omkar Ainapur, a lecturer who swears by Linux, "It is disheartening to note that the Goa government is promoting Microsoft Windows when the latest trend is to switch over to an open source software." "The open source software, besides being free to use and share, is fully downloadable. The latest version of the software Open Office Org 2.4 is fully compatible with Miscrosoft's MS Office and comes packed with all the features of MS Office," Ainapur informed. While the open source software comes free, the professional version of MS Office costs Rs 17,000 and the student/teacher version is pegged at Rs 6,000. Be that as it may, the skewed manner of implementation of the scheme has also raised eyebrows in some quarters. "The scheme has been implemented from this year for teachers of high school and higher secondary schools, thus defeating the very purpose for which it was meant for. "Had the scheme been implemented from the college level downwards in phases, it would have served the desired purpose as the usage of computers is higher at college level than in high schools and higher secondary schools. "What is the point in giving laptops to teachers whose academic curriculum requirements do not merit such a provision?" a senior lecturer from a government aided college countered. Meanwhile, the revelation that the higher prices tagged to the computers offered through the scheme smacked of a scam in the making. Prospective beneficiaries of the scheme are worked up over the issue. "The whole scheme definitely is a sham. If the government is really sincere in its motives, it would do well to act as a facilitator of the scheme by requesting the suppliers to offer discounts directly to the beneficiary. If not, somewhere somebody is getting kickbacks," a college teacher remarked. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Goa/Laptop_scheme_draws_flak/articleshow/3147056.cms
