Kerala schools to have free digital libraries

Thiruvananthapuram, March 8 : The government will set up "Free Digital Libraries" in all schools in Kerala, Education Minister M.A. Baby said Monday.

Under the scheme, 4,071 schools will be provided hardware equipment including 7,300 computers, 3,740 laptops, 6,510 UPS units, 1,291 printers, 785 scanners, 1,160 multimedia projectors and 430 LCD Televisions (32") before March 31.

"Here the scope of the word 'free' doesn't limit to mere free of cost. Instead, schools will get absolute freedom to copy, modify and re-distribute the content among teachers, students and general public. This is in tune with the 'Free Software' philosophy, as against the 'License Raj' system offered by proprietary software," he said.

Baby was speaking during the state-level inauguration of hardware distribution to 4,071 schools under "ICT in School Scheme".

K. Anvar Sadath, executive director of IT@School Project, said the 'Free Digital Libraries' will be provided materials on a regular basis.

"Besides, schools can download content using the broadband facility available in libraries. IT@School will facilitate sharing of digital materials and video documentaries produced by schools among themselves. There is no issue of piracy or unauthorized copying, but all teachers and students can use these materials the way they wish to use," said Sadat.

IT@School Project, through its various initiatives, has enabled the educational system to make a paradigm shift to ICT enabled education from the conventional IT education.