The Justice Minister says Government will make every effort to ensure schools reopen on Thursday.
Teaching Unions are due to meet with the Education Minister to discuss the reopening, amid concerns about staff shortages due to Covid-19.
There are calls for a "delayed and staggered" reopening and for individual schools to be allowed to decide how and when to reopen.
Minister Helen McEntee says the best thing for students is a return to school as planned.
"They need to be in school and we take away from that every single day that they're not in school and it's not just about their education for their social development, engagements with their peers or their social skills. Every single effort is going to be made to make sure that our school is open on Thursday and that means working with the unions, it means ongoing engagement with public health, and it means looking at different contingency plans."
