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NEWS RELEASE

Digicel Turks & Caicos Islands and the Ministry of Education partner to facilitate learning during Coronavirus lockdown

Digicel, in partnership with the Turks & Caicos Islands Ministry of Education, Youth, Culture, Social and Library Services, has been able to facilitate continued schooling for students throughout the region. As a result of the global Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic, school schedules have been disrupted by the restrictions put in place by the Government to reduce the spread of the disease. Digicel has donated 75 MiFi devices, with SIMs, to the Ministry to be distributed among children with economic challenges, who would be most severely impacted by school closures across the islands. These devices will come equipped with a special student data plan that will allow them to access the internet (social media platforms excluded) at zero cost for three months. Specific educational websites will be accessible to facilitate learning. In addition to the donation of devices and data, Digicel has made the student plan available to customers for just $25 per month, and the MiFi devices are now available at a discounted rate of $50. These initiatives will enable students to continue learning in an affordable, efficient and flexible way.

Addison Stoddard, CEO at Digicel TCI, said: “Remote learning is, by no means, an easy thing to coordinate, and we understand the challenges that the Government, schools, teachers, parents and students are facing. We just want to be able to provide help and support where we can, and at a time like this, when efficiency, speed and flexibility are of the utmost importance, we are well poised to offer a functional solution. Through ongoing collaboration with our partners in education, we’re aware that some students don’t have devices to access e-learning, so we are also currently in the process of procuring suitable tablets for children that can be offered at a low cost. We also want to encourage students to practice social distancing and to use the MyDigicel app when signing up for the plan.”

The Hon. Karen E. Malcolm, Minister of Education, Youth, Culture, Social and Library Services has said: “From the announcement of the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Education was concerned about those of our student population who have challenges accessing e-learning because they do not have devices or internet access. I am pleased that we have been able to move our discussion with Digicel TCI Limited forward, and can today, announce and roll out one of the solutions as indicated above. Our future success is dependent on how well we prepare today. It is comforting to know that more of our boys and girls will be able to participate in the e-learning environment to get on with their formal education. I commend the management of Digicel TCI for these initial steps and I look forward to what will unfold in the coming days.”

In other countries across the Caribbean, Digicel has worked with the ministries to form educational partnerships. These have included the donation of devices, as well as zero-rating some learning platforms and Government websites, to allow users free access in an attempt to help keep students and parents connected and learning.

Addison added: “With a Digicel SIM, students can use their own digital devices to sign up for a student plan, which will give them access to online classes, and information that will help them to research, study and prep for their examinations. At Digicel, we’re in the business of keeping people connected and while we are focused internally on business continuity, we understand the purpose that serves to our customers externally. During this time, we hope that everyone remains safe and we will continue to do our best to serve.”

ENDS