The numbers are not high. Out of more than 83,000 students attending public schools up to 300 attend Tasmanian eSchool full or part time, while in 2012 there were 660 students engaged in home schooling.

The numbers are not the issue. All children are entitled to an education in Tasmania. It is why taxpayers spend $1.4 billion each year providing schools and teachers.

Bullying is a reason why some parents opt out of the system. The Tasmanian eSchool option is experiencing a rise in enrolments due to "medical reasons".

Tasmanian State School Parents and Friends president Jenny Eddington said anxiety, in some instances caused by bullying, was a significant contributing factor to eSchool enrolments.

The rough and tumble of school life, as young students adjust and mature in a social environment, will always be a part of a child's growth, producing some good learning experiences and some forgettable.

Bullying, however, raises the stakes in child development. It is an insidious escapade in sustained mental torture. It can ruin a child's education. It is a cowardly tool of exclusion and has no place in the school system.

The Education Department may take heart from the small proportion of affected students, but more accurate statistics would help because this is a serious, community problem, and not one that a syllabus or school procedures alone can deal with.

Bullying should never be allowed to become a determinant in a child's education.

The department says it leaves the development of anti-bullying policies with individual schools. Yes, but the department ought to be crystal clear with school communities that bullying in the school yard or via social media is unacceptable and must be stopped.