NI school reopening date needed soon, says Education Minister Peter Weir

The Northern Ireland Executive is expected to review the current lockdown measures when it meets on Thursday, with schools likely to be on the agenda.

As things stand, schools are to remain closed until March 8 for most pupils — excluding special schools which have remained open throughout the current period of lockdown.

But Health Minister Robin Swann and his senior medical and scientific advisors have been urging caution in recent weeks when it comes to the easing of restrictions.

The News Letter understands that a decision on school reopening is unlikely to be announced following Thursday evening’s meeting, but the Education Minister has insisted such step could be taken.

Mr Weir, in an interview with BBC Radio Ulster, stressed the need to provide notice to parents and schools.

“Obviously I will want to see the maximum number of pupils return as quickly as possible but that’s got to be weighed against the public health situation,” the Minister said.

“There will be discussions within the Executive on that and there will be a range of options that the Executive will want to consider.”

He continued: “I think there is a possibility that something could be said around schools on Thursday but at this stage I think it is too early to tell. If it’s not something definitive on Thursday it would need to be something fairly soon after that.

“I don’t want to be in a situation where we’re going on much longer than about a week without giving that level of certainty as to where we move to in March.”