“Constructivist approach to learning” The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005, produced by NCERT emphasises that learning happens when the learner actively participates in the process of learning and not when the learner is a passive recipient of knowledge as a finished product. This is applicable to computer related learning as well. Software can be really learnt only when the learner actually is able to modify the code, write software, and develop applications.

To reflect the spirit of the NCF, our schools should provide learners with the opportunity to create and modify software. Expecting students to write software without having access to free software is like expecting students to write books without allowing them to read books. This is possible only through the use of free software and not through proprietary software. Secondly if our students learn only proprietary software, they will become dependant on it and also purchase proprietary software for their own individual or household use – this is largely the situation in India, where most households use proprietary software, since they have not even heard of free software. Private software vendors offer their software at extremely low prices to schools, because they want to make students dependant on their software and not explore alternatives. Thirdly, digital learning material created by the teachers and students (which the NCF regards as an important part of the learning process), created using proprietary software, will get locked into the proprietary formats of these applications and will require one to continue paying money even to open them and read them. Open standards and software exist precisely so that this is prevented. One needs to point out that proprietary locking, while free alternatives exist, is a ploy to continue milking the user for profits far into the future. We already have this unfortunate situation where teachers have made hundreds of presentations using proprietary software, to read which, each user needs to procure a copy of the software, thus making user pay for learning material created by the public school system.

The Indian Government has recently notified the 'policy on open standards in e-governance' by which proprietary standards should not be used in government.

Best use of limited resources – the economics of free software

Free software does not forbid selling and buying copies, but it means that the school system, after acquiring a copy, is free to make more and redistribute them - for instance, to all the schools. The schools do not need to pay for permission to use these copies. This creates the opportunity for great cost savings. In developing countries like India, there is really no reason to spend public money on proprietary software when equivalent free software is available.

For instance, in the state of Karnataka if each of the around 50,000 schools had 5 computers for each class, then we would spend - 50,000 * 5 * 25,000 = 625,00,00,000 (Rupees 625 crores) on basic private software (a popular operating system and Office applications suite). On the other hand, if the option of free software is selected, then this entire money could be used for other priorities such as basic infrastructure, hardware, research into hardware innovations. If we take the entire Indian Public school system, comprising of over 1.3 million schools, the amount that we can avoid diverting to proprietary software can amount to more than 25,000 to even upto 100,000 crores.

Promoting local language resources through local language software

We may think that English is the 'natural' language of software. However software has no 'natural' language and the domination of English in software only indicates that there have been lesser efforts to extend software applications to other languages. We want to put in maximum effort to protect, grow and develop local languages in India.. This is especially important in Information Technology, so that its benefits are available to the entire community and not limited to English speaking citizens. Many countries are putting in lot of effort and resources into making software and software platforms as well as digital information resources in their own languages. For example, in Japan, France, Germany, China, Russia; Internet and other software applications as well as digital information have been developed in local languages. This form of local language software and applications development can be best done by local software engineers working with free software. In contrast, when proprietary software is used, changes can be done only by the vendor , and this means fewer people can be involved in this effort. More importantly, this causes our language software to become dependant on the market and business priorities of the sellers. Hence the public sector needs to lead the efforts in developing software and digital information in local language, and this can be done very well through the education system - in our network of schools, colleges and teacher education and support institutions. The countries mentioned above and Kerala have succeeded in creating their local eco-system for local language software and digital information.