MS Anytime, Anywhere scheme promotes class warfare
State school demands pupils buy £1300 laptops
Posted in Business, 13th December 1999 11:38 GMT
Free whitepaper – Solid State Drives and High-Speed Memory
A Microsoft free education project could break the piggy bank for parents at Tudor Grange School, Solihull. They are being asked to stump up £1,300 each for laptops supplied by the school to enable their children to take part in Microsoft's Anytime, Anywhere learning scheme.
The laptop purchase is not compulsory, but children whose parents refuse to pay will be taught separately. Does Microsoft really want to be associated with a school that is actively promoting class warfare? Only parents whose children qualify for free school meals are exempted from the Tudor Grange cash call.
But these are likely to be thin on the ground, considering that Solihull, near Birmingham, is one of Britain's wealthiest districts. The laptop scheme should promote wealth redistribution of sorts - tough kids from inner city Birmingham will find much richer pickings when they go mugging youths in Solihull. ®
Related stories
Truants rewarded with 1K laptops
US governors face off over Net taxes - why shouldn't the poor pay more?
Driving Situational Awareness:
Reshaping IT
Assuring application service quality
Application Performance Management:
Ensuring service assurance in the new normal
