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Education

Education Minister announces Platinum Partnerships for internet and tablet program amidst COVID surge

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By Shaniek Smith

Staff Writer

 

#TurksandCaicos, January 15, 2022 – Schools did not resume in person learning in the Turks and Caicos on January 4, instead it was back to virtual classes for 7,400 children in the British overseas territory due to an omicron-driven surge in Covid-19 infections.

It was announced on the New Year’s Day holiday for TCI, January 3 in a press conference hosted by Rachel Taylor, the Minister of Education, and attended by Jamell Robinson, Minister of Health and supported by Premier Washington Misick, who was also at the live event.

In a promised update, parents got the not-so-good-news, virtual classes would resume at least until the end of January due to the surge and staff shortages being experienced.  Turks and Caicos, up to Thursday January 14 had over 800 active cases, five new deaths and a 600 per cent increase in hospitalisations.  The Minister said the decision was in the interest of safety.

The Minister also promised to get devices and internet to students in order for them to participate in learning during this virtual-only season.  The press conference on January 13, welcomed partners Flow, Digicel and the Pine Cay Project.

In her address, chair of the Pine Cay Project, Marie Landel, said that an urgent call from Dr. Carlton Mills, a member of their board of trustees revealed that about 750 students would be without internet connection and devices.

The Pine Cay Project responded to that information and has agreed to pay for internet for 30 days students, with its partner in the initiative, DigicelTCI.  It is an $18,000 investment in education continuity for hundreds of children.

“We had strong discussions on what we should do with the money that we collect every year, so yesterday we agreed to the funding in emergency situation of 300 internet connections and devices that are going to help the students in need, and we’re very proud to be able to act quickly,” Landel expressed.

Additionally, the Marketing Manager at Digicel TCI, Mr Drexler Smith, said Digicel has partnered with the Ministry of Education to provide about 1,000 tablets for public schools. Smith added that 75 MiFi devices valued at 7,000 dollars were provided; they come with free data services for up to three months for students in need.

Digicel has also created a special education plan for e-learning with specific zero-rated sites and applications. The company partnered with Pine Cay and other private entities in this regard. Various schools and educational facilities in South Caicos, Five Cays, and Providenciales have benefitted from laptops, data plans, MiFi’s, and e-learning kits.

Marketing Executive Flow TCI, Darron Hilaire, also shared the contributions Flow made to the education sector since the pandemic.

“Within the last three years, Flow TCI, through our charitable foundation, would have donated $130,000 worth of ICT equipment to 2 schools respectively in Grand Turk and in Providenciales for the outfitting of the new computer labs to help facilitate the ministry’s vision to foster an efficient e-learning environment for students,” he said.

Mr. Hilaire added that within the first year of the pandemic, Flow responded to requests from the Ministry to increase the bandwidth to public schools in the TCI. Hilaire said Flow home internet speed doubles automatically at no cost to its customers in early July.

He said that within the last 60 days, Flow TCI announced a recent donation of $25,000 dollars to two schools in North Caicos and one in Providenciales. The donation was in aid of increasing connectivity and infrastructural upgrades.

“As we come to the end of this phase of the project, our objective is to look at doing the same for other schools in the second phase of the projects to further arm our schools with the access to technology to provide the best quality education to students,” Hilaire added.

Amanyara Resort, not present at the press event, was said to be working on additional laptops for hundreds of children despite having already donated to several schools in Providenciales.

Minister Rachel Taylor and her team, including Eugene Grant, ICT Education Officer at the Ministry of Education and Mark Garland, Deputy Director of Education thanked the donors; they were labelled Platinum Partners by the Minister.

 

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Bahamas News

UB Art and Music Students to Benefit from a $100K Scholarship Award Established by Cordell Broadus Jr. and the Tezos Foundation

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Nassau, THE BAHAMAS — Nearly one year ago, Cordell Broadus, son of legendary American rapper Snoop Dogg, stood before hundreds of University of The Bahamas (UB) freshmen and declared his interest in financially supporting the talented artists and musicians among them. Some seven months later, Mr. Broadus made good on that promise by generously donating $100,000 to the University to support the creative arts at UB. 

On Thursday, 7th March, UB executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mr. Broadus a.k.a “Champ Medici” and the Tezos Foundation in the RBC Auditorium of the Franklyn Wilson Graduate Centre for the establishment of the Champ Medici Arts Fund (CMAF) Scholarship Award. The CMAF is a $1 million philanthropic effort in partnership with the Tezos Foundation to support emerging and legacy musicians and artists across the globe who are seeking to build and create new creative and cultural works on the Tezos blockchain.

A two-part gift, the CMAF Scholarship will donate a monetary prize to be allocated to UB students participating in a competition which will showcase their non-fungible tokens (NFT) projects. The CMAF and the Tezos Foundation will offer educational tutorials, materials and guidance on how to use the Tezos blockchain to mint, market and sell their works. 

The second part of the gift will be used to purchase the technology and relevant equipment and supplies for the students so that they can further pursue digital art and music initiatives within the University’s curriculum and in the future.

“This just really came from the bottom of my heart,” said Mr. Broadus. “My first time outside of America was to The Bahamas with my grandma and my great-grandma, who are both no longer here. So, just coming down here has always been inspiring, obviously beautiful, as the country has a very rich culture. You guys have intelligent students, and I just wanted to be representative and show that you don’t have to play sports and make music to become successful, but you can have ownership and your own narrative and do things you want to do. So, that’s what I’m trying to strive to do.”

UB President Janyne Hodder said the University is extremely grateful for the kind gesture, which came at a time when UB is seeking to better itself and foster a culture of continuous improvement in academia via the pursuit of local and international accreditation, as well as celebrate 50 years of continuous operations in service to the nation. The $100K gift by CMAF and the Tezos Foundation will only augment those pursuits. 

“We are grateful for the vision of those at Champ Medici Arts Fund and the Tezos Foundation, Mr. Cordell Broadus and others, for making this investment in students of University of The Bahamas and for recognizing the potential of our talented students,” said President Hodder in her remarks. 

Mr. Broadus had an opportunity to speak to students at UB’s 2023 Fall Freshman Orientation, where he indicated: “We also have a fund where we give back money to minority artists who create music, who create art, and at some point, I would like to pick one of you guys to donate that money to in this room, whoever is a talented artist and a talented musician, let me know.”

Fast-forward to Thursday’s MOU signing, Dr. Douglas Barkey, Dean of UB’s College of Liberal and Fine Arts, praised Mr. Broadus for being a man of his word in partnering with the University. 

“We get a lot of visitors here, we see quite a few because of who we are and where we are, and we’re happy to receive them,” said Dr. Barkey. “They are all inspired by the creativity they see among our students and faculty, our young musicians, emerging artists, and they leave with the intention to help out in some way. We’re used to not hearing back. But that is not the case today. The Champ Medici Foundation for the Arts and the Tezos Foundation have come together to truly give back to the Bahamian community of emerging creative professionals in a very innovative manner through this gift.” 

Mr. Dino Hernandez, UB’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs, praised the new partnership for granting talented artists at UB the opportunity unlock their creative musical and artistic talents. 

“We truly appreciate the partnership with CMAF and Tezos Foundation for the establishment of this $100,000 award, which I’m sure Dean of Liberal and Fine Arts Douglas Barkey and the exceptional music faculty are deeply appreciative of,” said VP Hernandez. “Providing our students with access to state-of-the-art digital equipment, educational tutorials, and mentorship, also will go a long way in teaching and training our students, many of whom are fantastic musicians and artists.” 

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Caribbean News

UWI partners with InterCaribbean airways

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Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

 

#TurksandCaicos, March 9, 2024 – The aviation industry is in dire need of fresh talent and two regional entities are now partnered to ensure there is not only a world class educational program, but scholarships for future aviators.

The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus scored big, partnering with regional airline company InterCaribbean Airways securing a Memorandum of Understanding, one of duality benefiting significantly both entities.

Signed on Thursday February 29th, the MOU will allow UWI to further advance its aviation studies.  Also, according to the University in a statement, the partnership aims to cater to the development of the regional air transport sector.

This is crucial as InterCaribbean Airways, as are many other airlines, is struggling with staff shortages which are impacting customer satisfaction levels.

In fact, according to the airframe manufacturer, Airbus has gone on record to say the entire industry will need to hire 585,000 new pilots by 2042 to keep up with the levels of demand. And, its competitor, Boeing, informs that the need is now even higher at 649,000.

Additionally under the MOU, are five annual scholarships that will be offered to deserving students.

“The Scholarships are in honour of Manville “Donnie” Gardiner, the late brother of the founder and chairman of the airline, Lyndon Gardiner,” the University said.

The scholarships will support aviation undergraduate students from the Caribbean, enrolled in programmes like the newly approved Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Aviation Management and BBA in Aviation Management with Pilot Licence.

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Education

TCI Minister Rachel Taylor – Message on Teachers’ Appreciation Day  

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#TurksandCaicos, March 8, 2024 – Happy Teachers’ Appreciation Day to our most valuable players within the Education Sector. You are all loved, valued and will be continuously celebrated, supported and rewarded for your significant contributions toward the Human Capital Development initiatives across these beautiful by nature Turks & Caicos Islands.

 I trust you enjoy the video message that was developed to honor and celebrate you on this auspicious occasion. Please watch a special message on Turks and Caicos Islands Government Facebook Page.

Once again Happy Teacher’s Day, 2024!

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