The Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern, said tonight the Government will not engage in direct talks with the ASTI.
In an open letterto ASTI general secretary Mr Charlie Lennon, Mr Ahern claimed this was a direct result of the teachers' present position and their threat of five more days of strikes before Easter.
Mr Ahern said the Government would not jeopardise the future of secondary school students and would press ahead with Leaving and Junior Cert exams.
The letter is a direct reply to ASTI who called for direct talks with the Government in a letter sent on Monday.
After a nationwide strike by secondary school teachers today, leading to the closure of 620 schools countrywide and affecting 17,000 students, Mr Ahern said the Government would not negotiate.
"Your Association has had its claim examined under the Conciliation and Arbitration system which is the agreed mechanism for resolving issues in the dispute," Mr Ahern says in the letter. "It rejected the Arbitration findings."
Following the examination, Mr Ahern said: "The [Labour]Court did not uphold the Association’s claim for compensation for increases in the cost of living or for increased pay in respect of past productivity.
"It concluded that these issues have been addressed in the national agreements by pay increases, tax concessions and, in the case of teachers, by a number of special awards over the years."
The Court did, however, find that the Association had a sustainable case for a pay increase by reference to comparison with other graduate entry employment groups.
As result, the Taoieach said, the Court recommended a expert review be undertaken of all the non-pay aspects of education in regard to the rapidly changing educational environment.
"It was a matter therefore of considerable dismay to me and my colleagues in Government that the recommendation was summarily rejected by your Central Executive Council," said Mr Ahern.
"We cannot understand how teachers, in conscience, can contemplate jepordising the future careers of many students for whose education they are responsible.
"The State will conduct its examinations to the best of its abilities. Your Association may feel able to abandon the students in this predicament; the Government will not," Mr Ahern concluded.