Most pupils will not return to the classroom until Monday 8 March at the earliest.
First Minister Arlene Foster said the COVID-19 situation meant remote learning must continue. However she said the kitchen table was no substitute for the school desk.
This date extends the previously announced reopening date by two weeks.
Special schools and childcare will continue to remain open for staff and pupils and the current restrictions on youth service provision will also remain in place for this extended period.
Education Minister Peter Weir said the removal of face to face learning will have a negative impact on children’s educational experience, with a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged groups and vulnerable children.
“Any interruption to normal schooling is only done with the greatest level of reluctance.
“My priority is to return to full time face-to-face teaching for all as soon as possible. The aim would be to start face to face teaching in early March, but all actions on resumption will be dependent on the wider public health situation,” he said.
An announcement on alternative awarding arrangements for key examination years is expected shortly.
“Given the disruption to our children’s education, educational recovery is critical to their future. I will be seeking resources to enable investment in catch up to allow children to make up for the loss of face to face teaching over these two academic years, and welcome the agreement in principle by the Executive to this. Core loss to the foundations of education, if missed now, could have a longer detrimental impact on children,” he added.
In relation to school transport and Free School Meals the Minister said that the processes in place will continue.
He said: “Where children can use alternative means of travelling to school they should do so and the wearing of face coverings for post primary pupils on school transport will continue to be mandatory.
“For children entitled to free school meals, payments in lieu of free school meals will continue to apply to any child entitled to free school meals who is learning remotely and cannot attend school as a result of the restrictions.”
Martin McKay, CEO and founder at Antrim-based education technology company Texthelp, said for many children this year, education has been more like a game of snakes and ladders – the learning begins and you make progress, only to slide back down the board again.
“Learning loss happens naturally between term breaks, but the constant stop-start has meant this learning loss is now greater than ever. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson acknowledged that it will take more than a year for children to catch up with their education.
“Keeping students engaged and motivated over Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams is one of the biggest challenges, and a constant battle for teachers. During the first lockdown, just 34% of students were actively engaged with home learning – something we discovered through our own research of 11,000 UK students.
“Girls’ wellbeing scores were 5% lower than boys under lockdown. Education software can help to overcome some of the challenges around motivation and engagement by providing regular feedback and ‘gamifying’ learning, using point systems or leader boards, for example,” he said.