A national parents' group has urged the public to respond to Government advertisements for exam supervisors following the decision by the ASTI central executive committee to continue strike action.
Ms Marie Danaswamy, president of the National Parents' Council, met the Minister for Education and Science, Dr Woods, yesterday and said she had been reassured by the contingency measures in place.
University graduates will be recruited and trained to mark the Leaving and Junior Certificate exams, and members of the public will be employed to supervise the exams, it is understood.
Ms Danaswamy said she believed the training process would ensure the exams were corrected to the "highest degree of integrity" and in time for students to enter the CAO system.
She called on teachers to continue teaching the pupils who are due to sit the national exams in June.
Meanwhile, the Fine Gael spokesman on education, Mr Michael Creed, called for direct intervention from the Government to resolve the dispute. He said the ASTI rejection of the Labour Court recommendations on its 30 per cent pay claim was evidence of the depth of feeling among members and of the fact that they had lost confidence in Dr Woods.
The Labour spokeswoman on education, Ms Roisin Shortall, said face-to-face talks between the ASTI and Dr Woods were the only way the planned industrial action could be avoided.
It was time for the Minister to show flexibility and to provide some leadership, Ms Shortall said.
Mr Michael Moriarty, general secretary of the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA), said the ASTI decision at the weekend was the "worst possible outcome" for everyone and all parties were now being "driven into a black hole" which threatened the credibility of the exam system.
Mr George O'Callaghan, of the Joint Managerial Body (JMB), which is responsible for the management of most secondary schools, said the ASTI decision was "obviously disappointing".
It would mean further pressure on students, but the organisation would do its best to ensure the exams were facilitated to the fullest extent, although this would be difficult without the support of ASTI members, he said.
The director of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, Ms Mary McGlynn, said she was surprised and disappointed that the Labour Court recommendation had done nothing to advance the resolution of the dispute.