Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster has said remote learning for school children should only be for a short period, as she expressed concern about the life chances of young people during the pandemic.
Primary pupils are to be taught remotely for the week from tomorrow until Friday as the spread of coronavirus surges.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme, Mrs Foster said: “I certainly don’t want to be in a position of keeping our young people at home.
“It is important that we get young people into schools again, but we have to have remote learning for a short period of time and I hope it is a short period of time.”
Recently her DUP colleague, Education Minister Peter Weir, announced the delayed return for many pupils.
Teaching unions have called for remote education to be expanded to all in nursery, primary, secondary and special schools.
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Mrs Foster said: “We will do all that we can to keep pupils in school.
“We do recognise that with this new mutant version of Covid-19 there are difficulties and it transmits among younger people, and we have to take that into consideration.”
