South African education department teaches Delphi to high school kids

Hey guys,

I am from South Africa and with it being in many ways a third-world country I have grown to accept many of the problems that it has in terms of the use of technology and the quality of the internet. However, it makes me really sad to see the education department not keeping up with the times. I recently read this article (http://www.webaddict.co.za/2013/10/09/south-africa-education-department-bans-open-source-software/) about the education department's plans to teach kids Delphi at high school level. I mean really, Delphi is not even in use in industry (that I know of). Could they not have chosen Python or Java or any other 21st century language? I can understand that our country's technology infrastructure is lacking but the education department has their heads up their asses.

Anyway, was just interested to hear what you guys think about this.

Education should always be relevant, and forward thinking. It can be anything, it doesn't have to be a distinguished subject or field. A lot of people scoffed when British institutions began teaching media and film at a high level. And how could I forget fashion? Now, Britain is international known as a hot spot for media production. Many films are created here. The fashion industry is massive, too. So, education can encourage/stimulate/invite industry. It provides jobs.

By the sounds of things (not going to pretend to know coding languages), Delphi isn't good for anything. It doesn't promote anything, it doesn't serve anything.

Sad to hear.