Thousands of second-level pupils are expected to protest outside the Dail today at the continuation of the teachers' strike which has entered its most intractable phase.
The protest follows a wave of student demonstrations around the State yesterday with pupils in many schools walking out of their classrooms. The protests were directed at teachers and the Government.
Today's protest is expected to draw a large crowd, with some predicting that up to 5,000 pupils may attend. A similar protest outside the Dail before Christmas attracted several hundred, but since then many pupils have been holding protests in their own schools.
The protest is due to take place outside the Dail at midday, although a small number of schools were planning to hold their protest at 10 a.m.
In another development parents in several areas have written to their boards of management asking that study time be set aside for their children within the school during strike days.
Parents in many cases have offered to supervise the study periods, but some boards are worried about the health and safety implications of this.
The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) is resuming strikes today and tomorrow and up to 600 schools will be closed.
The most vocal of yesterday's protests were at the Department of Education's exams branch in Athlone, Co Westmeath, where staff had to lock doors and close blinds as up to 500 students protested outside.
The pupils of Our Lady's Bower, St Aloysius's and Marian College schools banged on doors and windows in protest at the Department's failure to reach agreement with the ASTI.
According to Alan Earls, a pupil at St Aloysius's, the teachers were being "completely irresponsible" and had no reason "to disrupt our exams, our futures".
A school-friend, Paddy Harney, also criticised the teachers saying: "They have enough, it is a national disgrace what they are doing."
Another St Aloysius's pupil, Cathal Lennon, said the teachers' action was "completely unfair".
A schoolgirl from Our Lady's Bower said it was "completely unjustified that our future careers can be damaged by the teachers' greed and selfishness. This dispute shows that they just don't really care about us, they are in it for the money and the hours."
Later as staff looked on in alarm, straw at the gates of the compound - part of foot-and-mouth disease precautions - was set alight by other, unidentified protesters.
The head of the Marist College, Brother John, said up to 300 of the school's 495 pupils had left classes to take part in the march.
"We have some sympathy for their concerns and their parents' concerns," he said. "We are caught in the middle. All we can do is urge both sides to come together and resolve the issue before the doomsday situation of no exams is faced."