‘Secret’ Microsoft UK school deal
p2pnet.net news:- A secrecy clause signed by the the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) means details of how much UK schools are paying for Microsoft software licences can’t be publicly revealed, says kablenet.com.
When Conservative MP Brooks Newmark asked the government for details of purchasing agreements with Microsoft, “This information is the subject of legally binding non-disclosure arrangements and excludes estimates in relation to Original Equipment Manufacturer licences,” declared schools minister Jim Knight, says the story.
Depending on the mix of products purchased, “schools should be spending between 20% and 37% less than might have been expected in the absence of the Becta Microsoft Memorandum of Understanding,” said Becta, according to kablenet.com, which adds:
“In January 2007 Becta said that early adoption of Microsoft’s new Vista software involved ‘high risk’ and did not recommend its early adoption in schools. The costs of a widespread deployment of Vista are currently estimated to be around £160m (today, about $308,254,946) while the benefits are unclear, according to Becta.”
Becta will produce a final report with recommendations by January 2008, adds kablenet.com.
Also See:
kablenet.com – Becta throws shroud over Microsoft deal, March 6, 2007
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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
March 12th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
…except that there isn’t any particular NDA involved, just “special terms” of all kinds being practiced in government deals, with price breakdown usually unavailable due to intrinsic reasons. So far the incentive for Linux-powered education has stalled.
It seems that Microsoft can exploit bureaucratic chaos just as skillfully as it can infiltrate the orderly First World governments.