REOPENING secondary schools early next month would be a "big ask", a leading doctor has said.
Closures have been extended until at least March 8 with teachers already predicting classroom learning will only resume after Easter.
Pre-schools, nurseries, primaries and post-primaries are shut to most young people.
Special schools remain open and mainstream settings continue to provide supervised learning for vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers.
The National Education Union has warned that a full return by all pupils may not be possible for some time.
However, the DUP has said the executive must make the education restart a priority.
Dr Tom Black, chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) in Northern Ireland has now said he was hopeful primary children could return by March 8.
Speaking on BBC's Sunday Politics programme, he said the reopening of primary schools was more likely.
"We know the transmission infection in younger children is much lower," Dr Black said.
"The chief medical officer and the Department of Health will look carefully at data and look at the R number - which is 0.8 at the moment. Opening schools has an increase of between 0.3 and 0.6 in the R number, so we couldn't do that at the moment.
"Maybe in March, primary schools to open and see what effect it has. We really want the schools open before anything else, but secondary schools might be a reach at the moment."