The Education Minister has been repeatedly heckled and jeered at the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) annual meeting.

Around a dozen protestors also held placards as Ruairi Quinn arrived at the conference, accusing him of destroying education.

The Minister is using his address to the ASTI delegates in Wexford to robustly defend his plans to reform the Junior Cycle.

A number of teachers walked out during his speech, which was interrupted on a number of occasions.

The Minister earlier told 800 delegates at the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) annual conference that honours maths should be a minimum requirement to qualify for teacher training.

While the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) General-Secretary said it is time to seriously consider merging with the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI).

In his address to 400 delegates in Kilkenny, John MacGabhann said it is illogical, often absurd and certainly wasteful to have two unions at second-level.

He said the TUI and ASTI face common challenges and threats which they could see off more effectively if they act as one.

The Haddington Road Agreement and cutbacks in the education sector are among the other issues discussed at the TUI conference.

While reform of the Junior Cycle is set to dominate the annual conference of the ASTI. Members of the ASTI are calling for the proposals to be deferred for a year to give schools time to plan.

The new programme - which includes in-school assessments instead of the Junior Cert exam - is to be phased in from September.

However the ASTI General-Secretary Pat King says schools are not ready for the planned changes.

"It's the big issue because teachers are concerned about the nature of education that's provided for students - we're very concerned about our students, that they get high quality education, that they get education that protects standards" he said.

"We're worried about the standards and the difference of standards that may emerge as a result of the proposals; that's why teachers are upset" he added.