An assessment of open source software's use for administrative, teaching and learning in private chartered universities in Kenya.

Abstract

Kenyan private chartered universities have implemented Open source software for administrative, teaching and learning purposes. However despite the implementation of these Open source software, a review of literature reveals a lack of knowledge on the extent and success that has been achieved in the implementation of open source software projects in universities in Kenya. Given the advantages of using Open Source Software in university operations, there is need for better understanding of the key challenges facing usage and implementation of Open Source Systems and therefore propose a framework for implementation of open source systems. The study focuses to determine the key challenges facing the usage and implementation of open source software for teaching, learning and management activities of private universities in Kenya and proposes a framework for implementing open source systems in Kenyan universities. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The findings from this research provides evidence that most universities need to provide for adequate budget to go towards supporting the systems use the main conclusions drawn from this study are that private chartered universities in Kenya have implemented Open Source Software. This is perhaps the reason why many private chartered universities have automated most university processes, and that Moodle Open Source Software is widely used.