Circular No. 08/2010/TT-BGDĐT on the use of free open-source software in educational institutions

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the use of free open-source software

in educational institutions

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Pursuant to the Law on Information Technology dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to Decree No. 32/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2008 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to Decree No. 64/2007/NĐ-CP dated April 10, 2007 on the application of information technology in the activities of state agencies;

Pursuant to Decision No. 698/QĐ-TTg dated June 1, 2009 of the Prime Minister approving the overall plan for the development of information technology human resources until 2015 and orientations until 2020;

Pursuant to Directive No. 07/2008/CT-BTTTT dated December 30, 2008 of the Minister of Information and Communications on promoting the use of free open-source software in the activities of state agencies and organizations;

The Ministry of Education and Training hereby stipulates regulations on the use of free open-source software in educational institutions as follows:

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Article 1. This Circular stipulates the use of free open-source software in educational institutions.

Article 2. These provisions apply to educational institutions including universities, academies, university-level schools, college-level schools, vocational secondary schools, general education schools, kindergartens, continuing education centers, community learning centers, foreign language and computer training centers (hereinafter referred to collectively as educational institutions), and educational management agencies.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

1. Electronic information portal is the sole access point for educational management agencies and educational institutions on the network environment, linking and integrating various information channels, services, and applications through which users can exploit and utilize.

1. “Open-source software(also abbreviated as open-source software) is software provided by the author with source code included and users do not have to pay copyright fees to obtain the source code.

2. “Free open-source softwareis open-source software with copyright, accompanied by a license that allows users the freedom to use, copy, distribute, and study, modify the source code and distribute derived software after modification.

3. “Commercial closed-source softwareis trademarked software sold on the market under copyright but the author does not disclose the source code and users are not permitted to exploit the source code.

Article 3. Purpose of using free open-source software in the education sector

1. To support the enhancement of programming knowledge, support innovation in thinking, create a research and creative environment; shorten research time.

2. To serve as a learning environment, sharing experiences in a learning society; create a working environment for teamwork and community collaboration.

3. To limit and aim to eliminate software copyright violations.

4. To save copyright costs.

5. To adapt to products equivalent to commercial closed-source software.

6. To ensure security for information system infrastructure and data.

7. To promote the use of open standards.

Article 4. Standard format for open document exchange

Apply Decision No. 1761/QĐ-BKHCN dated August 27, 2009 regarding the Vietnamese standard TCVN 7978:2009 on the Open Document Format (ODF) for office applications.

Chapter II
LIST OF FREE OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE

Article 5. List of free open-source software products required to be officially used for teaching and office work in educational institutions

1. Office suite OpenOffice.Org (Hereinafter referred to as OpenOffice) is software that meets and complies with the open document format standard ODF. OpenOffice.Org includes the following six modules:

a) Text editor (Writer);

b) Spreadsheet (Calc);

c) Presentation (Impress);

d) Database (Base);

đ) Graphics (Draw);

e) Mathematical formula editor (Math);

2. Vietnamese typing software: Unikey.

3. Web browser Mozilla Firefox.

4. Desktop email client from Mozilla: Thunderbird.

5. Operating system based on Linux.

Article 6. List of open-source software encouraged for use in educational institutions

The list of open-source software is specified in Appendix I, issued together with this Circular.

Chapter III
APPLYING FREE AND OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE

Article 7. Repository of free and open-source software for education

1. The repository of free and open-source software is established to concentrate on storing, disseminating, and sharing on the educational network EduNet, aiming to save resources and avoid duplication.

2. The repository of free and open-source educational software is located at: http://opensource.moet.gov.vn

or http://manguonmo.moet.gov.vn and www.edu.net.vn/media

3. Websites of educational institutions must have links to this repository of free and open-source software.

Article 8. Terminology in information technology teaching programs

When compiling information technology teaching programs at various levels and training qualifications, uniformly use common terms referring to the functions of software, specifically operating systems, word processors, spreadsheet applications, presentation software, and database management systems instead of terms based on the names of commercial closed-source software products.

Article 9. Updating teaching programs based on free and open-source software

Teachers and lecturers are responsible for incorporating free and open-source software into their teaching programs and content to meet societal needs, gradually replacing existing programs built on commercial closed-source software.

Article 10. Teaching materials, textbooks based on free and open-source software

Teachers may use teaching materials, textbooks compiled on the basis of free and open-source software that are equivalent in value and can replace those prepared using content from Microsoft Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access products.

Article 11. Organizing implementation of application

Educational institutions shall develop plans and implement the application of free and open-source software for their computer systems (including servers and workstations), as well as for application software and operating systems.

Article 12. Organizing research, exploitation, and development in higher education institutions

1. Establish research and development centers (for universities with specialized information technology departments) and promote the application of free and open-source software across national universities.

2. Organize for university and college students and lecturers to participate in domestic and international free and open-source software communities.

3. Organize for university and college students to participate in domestic and international competitions on free and open-source software.

4. Research and develop additional modules for free and open-source software; Encourage the registration of scientific research topics based on free and open-source software.

5. Develop new products based on open-source software.

Article 13. Graduation projects in universities and colleges

Universities and colleges encourage students to complete graduation projects, internships based on exploiting free and open-source software and using OpenOffice.org to write documents and present graduation thesis reports.

Article 14. Respecting Copyrights and Licenses

When developing derivative software based on original free and open-source software, the software developer must comply strictly with the terms of the original software's license.

Article 15. Procurement of Services and Enterprise Editions

1. Educational institutions shall direct and organize their specialized units responsible for information technology application to exploit, develop, and use free and open-source software.

2. In cases where necessary, users may purchase enterprise editions with advanced features or extended features along with accompanying services, providing justifications for the necessity of such features and the scale of solution implementation; submit these to competent authorities for review and approval.

Article 16. Training and Recruitment of Teachers and Educational Institution Managers

1. Exploiting and using free and open-source software is part of the training program for teachers and educational institution managers' knowledge and skills in information technology.

2. The content of knowledge and skills in using free and open-source software as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular shall be prioritized in teacher recruitment examinations and hiring assessments.

Chapter V
IMPLEMENTATION

Article 17. General Implementation Organization

1. The Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Education and Training shall be responsible for:

a) Directing, urging, and guiding the implementation of the contents of this Circular; receiving and handling any arising issues;

b) Directing and organizing training, supporting services, and technology for higher education institutions that have needs;

c) Directing and organizing the development of modules of office and applied computer skills based on free and open-source software for common use throughout the sector.

2. The Higher Education Department, Vocational Education Department, Continuing Education Department, Secondary Education Department, and Primary Education Department shall be responsible for implementing this Circular in their respective professional guidelines.

3. Educational institutions shall develop plans for implementation according to each academic year.

4. Implementation timeline:

By September 2010, educational institutions shall complete the deployment of OpenOffice.Org, Unikey, and Firefox software.

Article 18. Reporting and Evaluation System

Annually, educational institutions shall prepare reports on their plans for deploying information technology applications, including the implementation of the contents of this Circular, and send them to the Ministry of Education and Training, specifically:

1. List of deployed free and open-source software.

2. Level of deployment by field as specified in Chapter III of this Circular and the number and ratio of computers installed with and using free and open-source software.

3. Implementation costs.

4. Difficulties and obstacles.

5. Overall evaluation and recommendations.

Article 19. Effective Date.

(name of the agency receiving and processing the application)

During implementation, if any issues arise or difficulties occur, educational institutions shall promptly report to the Ministry of Education and Training via email [email protected] for consideration, supplementation, and amendment.

Article 20. The Heads of the Office and Departments under the Ministry of Education and Training, the Heads of Higher Education Institutions, Directors of Provincial Departments of Education and Training, and Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities are responsible for enforcing this Circular./.