The figure was released yesterday by the Education Department, which needs to shed 266-full time jobs by June next year  from a 7600-strong workforce.

Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said no employee would be sacked as a result of these cuts and instead  the savings would be made through redundancies and the WRIP.

Australian Education Union president Terry Polglase said those who took the WRIPs who were nearing retirement would be very happy as they were making money out of it.

Latest annual reports show that there are 24 principals and assistant principals over the age of 60 and 137 are over 55, while the average age of teachers is about 45.

‘‘Is it going to be another spin doctor activity or is it going to tell us everything about the savings that are going to be made through the issuing of WRIPs?’’ he asked.

Under the program, used to encourage people to leave the public sector, an employee of one to 10 years can receive a maximum payout of $15,000, and an employee of more than 10 years can receive a maximum of $30,000.

‘‘If the Australian Education Union had accepted the pay freeze, our schools could afford existing staffing levels  and families would not be inconvenienced by strike action,’’ Mr Rockliff said.

Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Michael Bailey said the strike had a huge financial impact on the economy.

‘‘It certainly is in the millions, when you look at the cost of daycare and the impact of productivity on business,’’ he said.

‘‘Businesses in Tasmania think it is quite crazy, where they have had to restructure over the last few years but the public sector doesn’t seem to want to. The economy can’t afford the public sector we have.’’