Reducing the stand-down time for teacher aides has been a long-running campaign for the union.

Unlike teachers, aides are paid on a casual basis and do not receive holiday pay, forcing some to apply for welfare or look for other work during the long summer break.

Australian Education Union Tasmanian branch president Terry Polglase said reducing the stand-down time by one or two weeks, to make up for the week lost in the change to a four-term year, was the union's main budget request to the government this year.

Instead the government promised $87 million to commit to the Gonski reforms, $22 million for a school building boost and $900,000 to help schools and colleges collaborate to provide year 11 and 12 classes.

``We are really pleased that the Liberal Party has taken on this serious cause, and we would like to think that in future years they would take this issue further and make teacher aides full-time employees,'' Mr Polglase said.

Opposition education spokesman Michael Ferguson said the funding promise was intended to show ``good faith'' with the lowest-paid workers in the education sector.

```We will allow teacher assistants to negotiate with their principals to be able to work that extra week of work a year during term time, which for many teacher assistants that will mean that it will fit in better with their other lives, particularly children,'' Mr Ferguson said.

Mr Polglase said he also supported the opposition's plan to hire 100 new teachers to extend all Tasmanian high schools to year 12.

Mr Ferguson would not say what the new teachers would cost, but said details would be released in Opposition Leader Will Hodgman's budget reply speech today.

The government estimates that 100 new teachers would cost $10 ?million a year, bringing the Liberal Party's education commitments to $44.4 million over four years.

There are 55 high schools and 25 prep to grade 10 schools in Tasmania, meaning the promised funding would provide just over one teacher per school.

Mr Ferguson said the initiatives would be funded on top of money committed in the state budget last week.