Speaking following the news, Nick Mathison MLA stated: "It is devastating that our children are now beginning to suffer the immensity of cuts to our education system in such a Dickensian manner."
"When some of our children are having to forgo heating and warm meals, to allow their schools to remain open, then I think we have reached a catastrophic tipping point. This must be the final straw.
“I have written to the Education Authority to establish the extent of this problem. However, the financial position that they have been placed in is a direct consequence of having no Executive or local Education Minister to support our schools. A restored Executive won't solve every problem, but without the institutions back up and running, no progress at all can be made in dealing with the endless list of cuts being made across our education system.
"Those holding our political institutions to ransom need to re-evaluate their priorities and do what's right for our children, before these problems become more widespread. They need to end their deadlock, get back to Stormont and put an Education Minister back into office to deal with this crisis."