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Microsoft urges schools, colleges to await discount

NASIR SIDDIQUI

KARACHI: Microsoft Regional Education Manager Jawad Redha has urged the Pakistani schools and colleges to get benefit from Microsoft lucrative offer of 97 percent discount on its latest computer programmes.

Addressing a press conference held at a local hotel on Tuesday, Jawad Redha said that Microsoft's Gulf Eastern Mediterranean (GEM) Academic Agreement is an annual licensing programme specially created to address the unique needs of primary and secondary education institutions, by providing a low-cost annual subscription plan to run legal Microsoft software.

Jawad said that GEM agreement was applicable to all government-approved public and private schools and colleges.

Giving salient features of the GEM agreement, he said it included the platform products like office standard/professional editions, office Macintosh edition work standard, Windows upgrades, BackOffice server Client Access Licence (CAL) Encarta references suite and one line, visual professional edition, and office starts here step by step interactive by press.

All these products are available for a 12 month period at approximately Rs. 2,900 per computer, whereas the retail value of the software is over Rs. 75,000, Jawad said.

Earlier, Business Development Manager, Microsoft Pakistan, Kamran Iqbal said the company has laid great emphasis on the promotion of information technology among the students and educational institutions in Pakistan.

He said, Microsoft has offered drastic discounts for students, teachers to contribute to the growth and development of young IT market in Pakistan.

He announced that copies of Microsoft Office 2000 professional are now available to Pakistani students and institutions at a price of Rs. 4,900 compared with the worldwide price of over Rs. 25,000 under the company's students licencing scheme.

Kamran said, Microsoft is committed to long term success of the IT industry in Pakistan.