With pre-Junior Cert exams under way or about to start, concern is growing among students that they will lose 10% of their English marks over ASTI refusal to teach the new course.

Students whose teachers are in Asti have not done an assessment task worth 10% of Junior Cert English

Update 6pm: Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton has warned that no further offers will be made to ASTI teachers after they rejected the latest round of proposals.

We could be facing an all-out teachers strike according to the ASTI.

The leadership of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) meet today to consider progress after three weeks of conciliation talks in their dispute with the Government.

Education Minister Richard Bruton has described next month's planned strike action by teachers as unnecessary.

Dozens of teachers were prevented from attending junior-cycle English training by the picketing of venues by their unions yesterday.

A leading teacher union official says he would have no problem running another ballot of members on Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan’s revised junior cycle reform plans.

Hopes of a breakthrough in the teachers’ dispute with the Government over junior cycle reform look slim, despite fresh talks planned next week.

Members of both teacher unions picketing at Mayfield Community School were resolute yesterday in their opposition to marking their own students for Junior Certificate.

Up to 17,000 secondary school teachers are starting industrial action today.

TUI members have voted overwhelmingly to temporarily suspend their industrial action in order to allow the union to engage in discussions related to the Croke Park Agreement.

Teachers are planning withdraw from extracurricular activities as unions step up their campaign against Government pay cuts.

Education Minister Batt O'Keefe has urged teachers intending to engage in strike action later this month to think again, for the sake of pupils and parents alike.

The organisation representing parents of children in secondary education has said it believes there is nothing to be gained from the planned November 24 strike action by teachers which will affect some 800,000 pupils.

Four out of five teachers backed a mass walk-out on November 2, it has emerged.

Teachers across the country have voted in favour of industrial action later this month.

The executive committee of the Teacher’s Union of Ireland (TUI) has this afternoon decided to ballot members on industrial action.

Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe says he hopes "sense will prevail" and teachers will not engage in industrial action.

Ireland's three main teaching unions have voted to take industrial action at the end of this month over what they say is the Government's disproportionate handling of the economic crisis.