linux certification for students

["Shiv Kumaar" <shivkumar@satyam.net.in>]

Red Hat Linux to certify schoolkids

Linux to knock bricks from Microsoft's wall

By Arron Rouse: Tuesday 04 February 2003, 16:50

A GOOD LINUX ADMINISTRATOR can be hard to

find but Red Hat has announced a cracking solution. Red Hat Academy is
designed to allow schools, colleges and universities to teach an academic
version of the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) training and certification.

The scheme allows educators to deliver courses and administer the Red Hat
Certified Technician (RHCT) exam. The certificates will count as a genuine
Red Hat qualification, the sort of thing that students could find very
useful when out looking for a job. The courses allow students to gain
certified experience in subjects such as system administration, network
engineering, C or C++ programming, databases, web development, PC repair and
forensic computing.

Red Hat has set itself on a collision course with Microsoft's MSCE training
program that the latter will find hard to compete against. "The costs and
legal burden of proprietary software for education are becoming
unsupportable" says Red Hat. The idea of school leavers starting their first
job with an RHCE certificate already under their belt is sure to give
Microsoft sleepless nights.

Red Hat hasn't stated how much it would cost per student to run a course
but, given that the schools and colleges can give students free copies of
Linux, the cost is likely to be low. From a teacher's point of view, the
whole idea should seem wonderful, all the course materials are there
already. The scheme is open to non-profit education establishments. µ