SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- A delay in returning New Brunswick high school students to full-time in-person learning should lead to the plan being scrapped altogether, according to the New Brunswick Teachers' Association.

The full-time return was supposed to happen Monday, replacing the one-day-on, one-day-off system that students had been under. The plan was postponed on Saturday with rising numbers of COVID-19 variants in the province.

The provincial government said it would revisit the decision during the week of April 26, adding its conclusion would be based on advice from Public Health.

"Changing the system again in May is just going to be a huge strain on everyone in the system when you have the end of the year right on the horizon," NBTA president Rick Cuming said on Monday.

Cuming said plenty of work and preparation went into Monday’s planned return.

"So that involved redoing schedules, re-rigging their supervision schedules, getting the furniture into the building where it needs to be," he said.

Many high school students were looking forward to having everybody back in the same building.

"It was a bit of a disappointment, but I understand why they did it," said high school student Monica Bell, adding a return to full-time learning would be ideal for her brother June graduation.

"He’s just really hoping for a little bit of a normal year."