Via Jim McNelis over at the Open Board Blog, I don’t know what to do with story out of Africa about a school administrator vetoing a school committee proposal to switch to Open Source software. On one level, it could just be an adminstrator getting cold feet, but here’s what scares me, the administrator writes a letter to Peter Rock Lacroix, the author of the blog, stating:

"[…] due to numerous recommendations forthcoming from the US Embassy, the State Department, and technology professionals involved in providing services to international schools worldwide, it has been decided that the switch to open source software on such a large scale is premature, and has therefore been reversed."

And Lacroix continues:

When I asked for the names of the "US Embassy" and "State Department" consultants with whom the director spoke, I was told that this information was "confidential." I then asked the director to – at the very least – ask these anonymous individuals if they would be willing to come forth so that an honest dialog regarding this matter might occur. I was told that this would be "inappropriate" though I wasn’t given a reason why.

Now, this could just be the director making a decision, but are the US Embassy and State Department really now advocating against Open Source? Could the release of 5-10 million Open Source laptops in African and South America in 15 months have something to do with it? I’d hate to think that American policy now (again?) supports keeping our corporate interests primary over our democratic interests.

And for more on this topic, be sure to read Miguel’s take on the situation, including his advice to Peter. All I can do is echo Miguel’s words — "Hang in there, Peter."