ICT Unit, Department Of Education
Attention: Ms. Trudi van Wyk
Room 619, Sol Plaatje House, 123 Schoeman Street
Pretoria, 0001 SOUTH AFRICA

Dear Ms. van Wyk,

Bridges.org would like to take the opportunity afforded by the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Unit of the Department of Education to make written representations on the Draft White Paper on e-education approved by Cabinet on 27 August 2003. The White Paper sets out Government's response to a new ICT environment in education. The overarching goal of the White Paper is to equip every basic and Further Education and Training (FET) learner with the knowledge and skills to use ICT confidently, creatively and responsibly by 2013.

Two recent announcements in South Africa raise sharp issues that characterize the raging debate between open source and Microsoft operating systems -- a debate that will ultimately affect developing countries around the world. Last Friday President Thabo Mbeki announced in his state-of-the nation speech to Parliament that Microsoft will provide free software for all of South Africa's 32,000 government schools. Previously, the South African Government's National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) declared its strong support for open source software, saying that it "has the potential to empower people in ways that proprietary software (such as Microsoft's) simply does not allow". For a nation that is counting on information and communications technology (ICT) to help address monumental social and economic problems, Microsoft's generous offer can make a real difference. However, many argue that open source software is more appropriate for the technology realities in developing countries. The Government -- and public -- should be aware of the implications of adopting the proprietary operating system in schools, and plan wisely to gain the benefits without suffering the consequences.