Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of sub-tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are southeast of Mayaguana in the Bahamas and north of the island of Hispaniola. The islands have a total land area of 430 square kilometres (170 sq mi). The islands are geographically contiguous to the Bahamas, but are politically a separate entity.

The total population is about 36,000, of whom approximately 22,500 live on Providenciales in the Caicos Islands.

Cockburn Town, the capital, is on Grand Turk Island. It is about 1,042 kilometres (647 mi) east-southeast of Miami in the United States.

In August 2009, the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos' self-government after allegations of ministerial corruption. The prerogative of the ministerial government and the House of Assembly are vested in the islands' incumbent governor, Gordon Wetherell, for a period of up to two years.

The official language of the islands is English and the population also speaks Turks and Caicos Islands dialect[32] which is similar to Bahamian dialect.

Education

Education is free and mandatory for children aged five to sixteen. Primary education lasts for six years and secondary education lasts for five years. In the 1990s, the island nation launched the Primary In-Service Teacher Education Project (PINSTEP) in an effort to increase the skills of its primary school teachers, nearly one-quarter of whom were unqualified. Turks and Caicos also worked to refurbish its primary schools, reduce textbook costs, and increase equipment and supplies given to schools. For example, in September 1993, each primary school was given enough books to allow teachers to establish in-class libraries. In 2001, the student–teacher ratio at the primary level was roughly 15:1.

The Turks and Caicos Islands Community College offers higher education to students who have successfully completed their secondary education. The community college also oversees an adult literacy program. The Ministry of Health, Education, Youth, Sports, and Women's Affairs oversees education in Turks and Caicos.

Given the small population there is a surprising number of tertiary level institutions:

1. Turks and Caicos Islands Community College - with campuses on both Grand Turk Island and Providenciales
2. St. Clements University
3. Burkes University
4. Boston University's School for Field Studies, South Caicos
5. Turks and Caicos Institute of Professional Studies, Providenciales
6. Turks and Caicos Islands Business College, Grand Turk Island
7. Weston University School of Medicine, Gracebay and Long Bay Campus, Providenciales

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