UK schools 'wasting millions' on Microsoft

UK schools could slash their software costs by up to 50 per cent by dumping Microsoft's and other proprietary offerings and replacing them with open source products.

According to a report due to be released later this month by Whitehall education procurement agency Becta, millions of pounds could be saved by moving to open source across the UK's schools and colleges.

The Times Educational Supplement claims to have seen a leaked copy of the Becta report, which it says compares the costs of IT products and services for schools using proprietary software with open source alternatives.

The report, which does not explicitly name Microsoft, apparently reveals that primary schools could reduce their expenditure by half if they chose open source, and secondary schools by a quarter.