They are wide ranging portfolios - so one can only assume a quarter of his time, if not less, will be dedicated to actually dealing with education related matters.

But as the Liberals promised in their first 100 days "to do list", Mr Rockliff certainly hasn't wasted time in sending letters to 28 rural and regional schools seeking their interest in extending to year 11 and 12.

This is all part of the Liberals' 10-year plan to drastically improve the state's year 11 and 12 retention rate, which is about 67 per cent.

In an ideal world - and let's be honest, for the betterment of Tasmania's economy - extending all public high schools to year 11 and 12 is a great idea.

Anything that can be done to encourage young people of their need to complete their basic school education should be lauded and encouraged.

But a few big questions remain about the potential for the Liberal government to successfully pull this off.

Where are the additional numbers of year 11 and 12 specialist English, maths, physics, biology, etc teachers going to come from?

Will the year 11 and 12 education offered in the high schools be as broad as that offered in the college system?

What happens to the college system if students decide to stay in their home towns and not move to the large centres?

And the big question - can the state afford to roll this out in each high school, as well as continue funding the year 11 and 12 extensions into the future?

Opposition education spokeswoman Michelle O'Byrne believes the state's tiny population could not possibly accommodate eight separate colleges and more than 50 high schools with year 11 and 12 extensions.

There is sound argument in this.

The $45 million promised for the next four years and first 21 schools to be extended, really isn't a lot of money.

So in the years to come it will be interesting to see where Treasurer Peter Gutwein will find the additional millions required to not only set up the school extensions but keep funding them.

Australian Education Union state branch president Terry Polglase has said teachers will make this work because it's their job and they'll just get on with it.

He also expects the four schools required for the initial rollout next year to jump on board pretty quickly because any additional money is always welcome.

However, whether the plan actually works or not is another thing altogether.

Prior to the state election the Catholic sector also voiced their concerns about the extension of public schools because of the impact on them - some independents may be wondering the same thing.

It is well known within the sector that quite a number of private school parents are going to the college system for their children to complete their education, if just for the excellent resources and wide subject choice available.

The Liberals' aim to increase the school retention rate to 81.6 per cent by 2015 will see a maximum average of about 2000 additional students complete year 11 and 12 in the next four years.

This is a big ask of any education minister, not least one who is also the deputy premier and responsible for two other portfolios.