Primary and secondary schools will be opening their doors in the next few hours after the Christmas break.
Student unions have expressed concern that schools would re-open without the necessary safety precautions in place to safeguard the health and safety of students and school staff.
The President of Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland Eamon Dennehy said it's possible schools could end up closing in the coming weeks due to staff shortages and infection among pupils and teachers.
"I don't have a crystal ball with regard to that, but there is concern among teachers that could be the case.
"We're disappointed that more effort hasn't been made with regard to safety measures in schools, such as improved ventilation, improved air cleaning etc."
The General Secretary of the The Teachers Union of Ireland says he is already hearing reports of staff shortages in schools across the country.
Michael Gillespie added it was too early to predict what may happen.
"Obviously the Covid situation is going to affect both teachers and students, and it's very hard to predict at this stage how badly it's going to be affected.
"We are getting reports saying that some schools have very few missing, other schools have a lot of teachers missing."
