Saskatchewan schools will close indefinitely starting on Friday.

Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Patrick Maze isn’t ruling out the possibility that March 20th could be the final day of the school year.

He says decisions will be made as time goes on, but with what other provinces are doing, Maze says quote “it probably makes sense to call it a wrap and start up again in September.”

In terms of whether or not some students may be required to hand in additional assignments to boost their grades, Maze says those details will be figured out at a later time.

He adds the important thing is that schools will close down on Friday in an effort to help stop the spread of the virus.

“Ultimately, I think students will be resilient and those who are worried about marks for example getting into university and things like that will probably find some ways to be provided with supplementary work.”

Maze says students looking to keep their grades up will be able to do so through online sources and that school divisions will likely release more details on how they’ll go about that in the coming days.

When asked about food programs that a number of students rely on through their school, Maze says students could reach out to their teachers who could then get in contact with local organizations that supply those supports.

The STF president adds that there haven’t been any conversations in regards to food programs that he’s aware of, although Maze does note that it’s a conversation that will need to take place in the near future.

Maze adds that bargaining talks with the province will take a backseat given that the health of students is their main priority.