TCI News
TCI public education to embrace ‘digital natives’; children will be allowed to bring their devices to school
#Providenciales, February 26, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – Significant investment is being made and has been made to modernize public schools and libraries in order to properly cater to the amazing ways our children are learning through information technology and its devices.
A policy approval at the Cabinet level last month has now activated the Turks and Caicos Ministry of Education to do its part to ensure students are ready for the world and learning through contemporary techniques.
“It is significant that the Turks and Caicos Islands has one of the highest levels of internet penetration in the Caribbean. The government of the Turks and Caicos Islands is committed to our youth enterprise and acknowledges that the Information and Communications Technology sector is ripe for investment and that improving access to information and the provision of seamless service will be a major enabler across all major policy areas and throughout ministries, departments and agencies,” said Karen Malcolm, Minister of Education & Library Services.
The Turks and Caicos Ministry of Education & Library Services recently spent some time during a press conference explaining the advent of a program which will be rolled out, initially as a pilot; and get this, it will allow children to bring their own devices to school to support their classwork.
“One of the things we’ve locally is the fact that our regional partners, for example the CXC is moving its entire suite of examinations to e-marking and e-learning broadly. In addition, teachers and how they deliver the curriculum is being transformed moving away – and in some cases – far, far, away from the chalk and talk didactic approach to the use of technology,” explained Edgar Howell, Director of Education.
The bottom line is the Turks and Caicos education ministry though ‘Bring Your Own Device to School’ is rapidly reforming to ensure students are not left behind or left out.
“The Digital Natives, our children are growing up in an environment where they seem to be coming out of the womb holding and I-pad or an I-phone or a laptop in their hands and able to use it. And we want to encourage them to be able use those devices to enhance and improve their learning outcomes.”
While the MoEYCLS admits it is unable to provide a device for every child, the program will allow personal items to be brought in and there will be negotiations with the private sector to offer devices at special prices for students.
“We are putting in the necessary security to ensure that when children come onto the school compound with their devices that they are only able to access those sites that would enhance learning. We don’t want them wandering into places that they should not be.”
Online mock examinations and uploading of school-based assessments are already in practice in at least two schools in the Turks and Caicos for CXCs. Distance learning for any level of learner will also be available through these advancements in ICT.
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Almost two million visitors recorded in 2025
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS – The Turks and Caicos Islands saw an increase in stayover arrivals in December, seven percent higher than the corresponding period in 2024.
Preliminary data suggests that stay over arrivals by air for the month of December was 66,427 in comparison to 62,610 in December 2024.
From January to December 2025, preliminary visitor arrival numbers totalled 640,754; on par with the number recorded for the same period of 2024.
Stay Over Arrivals YTD December 2024/2025
The first quarter of the calendar year attracted the largest number of arrivals with visitor arrivals three percent higher than the first quarter of 2024. Reduced airlift from the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably the Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue services, was however felt from the second quarter (April to June). As a result, visitor arrivals dropped three percent in the second quarter.
By the third quarter of this year (July to September), geopolitical and economic conditions in the key source markets, namely the United States, led to further contraction of arrivals. In the last quarter of 2025, arrivals were impacted in October due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa but additional airlift from the USA and Canada resulted in an increase in arrivals in November and December.
Mr. Paul Pennicook, Interim CEO Consultant of Experience Turks and Caicos, said December’s increase in stayover arrivals is an encouraging indicator of the sustained interest in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a premier destination.
“While we note and continue to monitor geopolitical shifts that affect us, Experience Turks and Caicos is focused on increasing marketing initiatives in our primary source markets. We have spent the last two years investing in groundwork such as crucial travel advisor training to assist them in selling the destination more effectively. In the next fiscal, we will be building on those initiatives with co-op activities with partners as well as out of home advertising to increase visitation to our destination,” he said.
In Cruise, the preliminary count of passenger arrivals for the month of December 2025 was 129,346, a 22 percent increase over last December. This growth follows the berthing of 11 additional ships in Grand Turk this month.
From January to December, the cruise sector continued to outperform the same period last year, as the 1.3 million total cruise passengers recorded, marks a five percent Year-on-Year increase. 
The cruise sector experienced significant growth in the first quarter of 2025, with passenger arrivals surpassing last quarter by 53 percent. In the second and third quarter however, several cruise lines adjusted their itineraries as vessels were pulled from the fleet or from the Caribbean region, which resulted in fewer passengers.
Arrivals dropped seven percent and 10 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively. Double digit growth was recorded in the last two months of Quarter 4. This growth however, was not sufficient to outweigh the drop in arrivals experienced in October, following the cancellation of cruise calls due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Despite the late-quarter rebound, arrivals for the final quarter of 2025 closed six percent below the same period in 2024.
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The Department of Trade, Industry & Fair Competition to Host Export Readiness Workshop Under the theme “Empowering TCI Businesses for Local Growth and Global Markets.”
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Wednesday, 11 February 2026: The Informal Settlements Unit (ISU) coordinated a multi-agency enforcement operation on Thursday, 29 January 2026, led by the Planning Department, with support from the Crown Land
Unit, the Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force, and security provided by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. The operation, carried out at three different locations in Providenciales, formed part of ongoing government efforts to address unauthorised development and illegal occupation of land in accordance with governing legislation.
The operation commenced in Blue Hills, where five Section 58 Enforcement Notices were issued on unauthorised structures identified on Block and Parcel 60502/48.
Enforcement activity then moved to a second location off the Leeward Highway near Caicos Lodge, where six Section 58 Enforcement Notices were issued on additional unauthorised structures on Block and Parcel 60802/66.
The final phase of the operation took place in The Bight, where three unauthorised structures were removed, with all debris cleared from the site in keeping with established safety and environmental protocols.
The Informal Settlements Unit remains committed to working alongside its partner agencies to support lawful development, protect public and private land, and ensure that planning regulations are enforced in a coordinated and transparent manner across the Turks and Caicos Islands. Similar joint operations will continue as part of the Government’s wider strategy to address unauthorised development and informal settlement activity.
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