Open source software in schools can offer a "cost effective" alternative to proprietary IT but needs "careful planning and support", according to a report by the government's education IT body. The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) says that costs per computer are less for schools which adopt open source at both primary and secondary levels.
It says: "For OSS (Open Source Software) schools, cost per PC at primary school level was half that of non-OSS schools, and cost per PC at secondary school level was around 20% less than that of the non-OSS schools."
Becta used a sample of 33 schools which were not using open source and compared them to 15 already using the technology. In addition to reduced total costs, support costs were also cheaper, it says.
"Annual support costs in individual OSS schools varied widely, but on average were 50–60% of those of their non-OSS counterparts, except OSS secondary schools which had slightly higher costs for informal support."
Schools taking part in the project used open source to run the schools servers, provide operating systems for classroom and administrative computers and for applications software.
Problems encountered include unfamiliarity with open source among staff, a lack of curriculum software, and senior staff and administrators being less receptive due to lack of compatibility and interoperability with existing packages.
"Whether or not migration to OSS is the best option for a school will vary from case to case," the report concludes.
"It is something that would need careful planning and discussion within the school. The potential cost benefits and savings clearly make it an option worth serious consideration. Cost, however, is not the only factor. The culture within the school and the context in which changes are introduced are crucially important factors to be taken into account."
Owen Lynch, chief executive of Becta, said: "There are many factors that determine the true cost of products and services. The cost of support, training and maintenance, and reliability issues, are as important as the purchase price when considering the total cost of owning and using technology.
"This report indicates that open source software can provide a cost-effective and efficient solution in schools if effectively deployed. Becta believes that software used in schools should be of a high quality and adhere to open standards, enabling compatibility and interoperability between products. Becta will now be undertaking more extensive research across a wider range of institutions to allow further analysis of these issues".
The report was funded by the Department for Education and Skills.
Quelle: KableNET, 16.05.2005
