Nicola Sturgeon has ruled out pupils returning to schools in Scotland on a full-time basis before the end of the traditional summer holiday.
Teaching unions have criticised the "cavalier" approach of the UK Government - which hopes to see some schools in England re-open as early as next month - and urged Holyrood ministers to stick to an August reopening.
Speaking at her daily media briefing, the First Minister said the Scottish Government was working to reach a "consensus view" on the right time to allow pupils and staff to return to schools.
"It is a reasonable thing for me to say right now - bearing in mind these decisions have not been taken in any final sense - but it is not going to be the case that schools are back to normal in any way, shape or form this side of the summer holidays," she said.
"We are of course discussing whether it is possible for any pupils to go back in that time-frame, but if it is - and we haven't concluded that yet - it's likely to be on a very limited basis."
The First Minister revealed today a total of 2,053 people have now died of coronavirus north of the border after testing positive for the killer bug – a rise of 46 on yesterday.
A further 143 Scots have now tested positive for Covid-19, taking the total confirmed cases to 14,260.
Scottish teaching unions today wrote to education John Swinney urging caution when it came to reopening schools.
"There is a strong argument to maintain a cautionary approach and to reinforce such by indicating schools will reopen after the summer break," it said.
"Not only does that bring clarity to parents, pupils, and teachers, it provides a significant period to plan and prepare for the very real challenge of delivering a blended learning experience for Scotland’s pupils in session 2020/21."
The letter continued: "A premature and enforced return to schools in June would serve to undermine the necessary commitment of staff, many of whom would be dismayed at an apparent disregard for their views, and also fearful for their own safety."
Sturgeon also ruled out the introduction of tuition fees as a way of propping-up Scotland's universities, which face a funding crisis in the wake of the pandemic.
The number of international students attending higher education institutions is expected to plummet this year as travel restrictions take hold around the world.
