This 48-page primer, a product of The International Open Source Network (IOSN), is part of an Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (APDIP) initiative which seeks to layout the advantages of using open source software as well as to provide information on server and desktop software that can be used in education. The primer describes some of the advantages of free/open source software (FOSS), including: offering lower costs; providing an opportunity for students to learn about programming by examining and modifying the source code; and offering more reliability than proprietary software.

This primer describes FOSS in education and the role it can play in schools, colleges and universities. It is intended to help policy-makers and decision-makers understand the potential use of FOSS in education and to learn how and why it should be used. Staff in ministries of education, school and university administrators, academic staff and researchers may also find this primer useful.

This primer is one of a series and has been released under the Creative Commons Attribution License which allows other organisations to copy and distribute this information.