The two leading issues are improving post-year 10 retention and potentially closing some small country schools.

The School Viability Reference Group will report to Education Minister Nick McKim at the end of this month.

This report will identify a criteria for assessing a school's viability and then, presumably, be used to recommend the closure of some small schools.

It is barely six months ago since Mr McKim's infamous ``we got it wrong'' admission over the botched attempt to close 20 schools.

It was poor management, poor politics and a clear lack of knowledge of the education imperatives.

Mind you, Mr McKim was the third Education Minister in just 13 months after the sudden resignation of David Bartlett and followed by Lin Thorp who managed to talk her way out of the job in the lead-up to the Legislative Council election for Rumney.

Mr McKim would be a brave minister to bring on a pre-election school closure fight.

Post-year 10 retention is equally problematic.

Figures released this week show that Tasmania still lags behind the rest of Australia when it comes to students completing year 12, especially in country regions.

Unfortunately these ``latest figures'' are from 2009. It is difficult to believe that there are not more accurate figures as we enter 2012.

There is still confusion in the wake of the aborted Tasmania Tomorrow reforms with the role of the Tasmanian Polytechnic, the Tasmanian Skills Institute and the possible return of TAFE clouding the horizon.

The Liberals have proposed an extension to year 12 in high schools to address the problem.

This is simplistic and populist politics.

Keeping teenagers involved in education beyond year 10 is vital but providing pre-tertiary education in specialist subjects is simply beyond the scope of high schools.