98 lines
4.4 KiB
HTML
98 lines
4.4 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
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<html newsdate="2011-11-07">
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<version>1</version>
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<head>
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<title>Unlocking education, for growth without limits</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<h1>Dutch government hands over education's keys to Microsoft</h1>
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<p> The Dutch government wants to tie the country's schools to
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a single software vendor for years to come. Dutch students using Free Software
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or devices without Silverlight-support will find themselves locked out of
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schools' online systems due to the use of proprietary technology and closed
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standards. Marja Bijsterveldt, the secretary of education, recently said that
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she is <a
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href="http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/bestanden/documenten-en-publicaties/kamerstukken/2011/10/28/beantwoording-kamervragen-gebrek-open-standaarden-voortgezet-onderwijs/beantwoording-kamervragen-gebrek-open-standaarden-voortgezet-onderwijs.pdf">unwilling
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to enforce the Dutch government's own Open Standards policy on educational
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institutions</a>. Instead, the government will accept long-term vendor
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lock-in of educational institutions. </p>
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<p>For Free Software advocate Jan Stedehouder this emphasizes the need for a
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stronger and more robust Open Standards policy framework. Therefore Stedeholder
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initiated the Dutch campaign to make the use of Open Standards mandatory in the
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public sector and to ensure vendor-independent access to all online service of
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publicly funded organisations.</p>
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<p>The organisations and individuals supporting the campaign demand:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>to strengthen the Dutch action plan "Netherlands Open in Connection"
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by making the use of Open Standards truly mandatory for all publicly-funded
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institutions</li>
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<li>to make vendor-independent access to all online services and
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information mandatory for all publicly-funded institutions, in this case,
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educational institutions;</li>
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<li>to promote innovative education in IT-skills by broadening the
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educational program with vendor-independent skill-sets.</li>
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</ul>
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<p>"The policy framework approved by the Dutch Parliament in 2007 was an
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important, internationally acclaimed achievement", says Stedehouder. "But
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political barriers have meant that this policy hasn't been implemented. As a
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result, students, future knowledge workers, are still locked in proprietary
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technology."</p>
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<p>Stedehouder highlights that students who complain about being locked out of
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their school's system are being advised to buy the proprietary Microsoft
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Windows operating system. "This behaviour is not only unacceptable but also
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illegal. Our campaign aims at passing new legislation to ensure the mandatory
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use of Open Standards in education, to make sure that students have access to
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the free technology they deserve", says Stedeholder.</p>
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<p>The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) supports the <a
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href="http://www.janstedehouder.nl/category/petitie-ictovergewicht-onderwijs/">Dutch
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campaign </a> which is gaining traction and has received endorsements by <a
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href="http://www.nllgg.nl/">NLLGG</a>, <a
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href="http://www.lpice.eu/nl/home/persberichten/steunbetuiging-en-oproep-voor-actie-ict-onderwijs.html">LPI Netherlands</a> , <a
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href="https://www.nluug.nl/">NLUUG</a> and <a
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href="http://www.hcc.nl/">HCC</a>, and almost 900 individuals. The Dutch
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parliament shares the disappointment with the way the Open Standards policy
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framework is implemented in education. Mark Lamers, coordinator for FSFE
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Netherlands, says: "Now it is time to act for everybody who is in favour of a
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free competition in the software market, and of course all Free Software
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advocates: Support this campaign!" </p>
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<p>"Though this problem is all too common around the world, the Dutch
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government's stance is particularly disappointing", says Karsten Gerloff,
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president of FSFE. "The Netherlands have some of the most progressive policies
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on Free Software and Open Standards in the world. But the education ministry
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utterly fails to implement them. I can well understand that Dutch
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parliamentarians are dissatisfied and want to push for a more robust
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policy."</p>
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<p>More background information and up to date information on this topic are
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available on <a href="/activities/nledu/nledu.html">"Unlocking education, for
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growth without limits"</a>.</p>.
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</body>
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<tags>
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<tag key="front-page"/>
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<tag key="nl"/>
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<tag key="education"/>
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<tag key="policy"/>
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</tags>
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</html>
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