Ravenswood Heights Primary School children have been unable to go on school camps for several years, while some high schools have cancelled grade 7 camps due to last year's education funding cuts.

The Education Department said the decision to organise school camps was up to individual schools.

Tasmanian Principals Association president Malcolm Elliott said camps were not mandatory school curriculum, and the costs of some activities, like camps, prevented some schools from offering them.

"Principals are absolutely devoted to providing the best they can to advantage children in their care and we would all love to see our children get access to absolutely everything but that just can't be the case," Mr Elliott said.

Australian Education Union state president Terry Polglase said school camps should be compulsory and it was a disgraceful situation where some children in the public school system missed out.

"It is very sad to think there are many schools who are not in a position where they can provide an overnight camp away for their children," Mr Polglase said.

"It is an indictment on all of us, but it shows the disparity of resourcing across schools.

"The government is not answerable for this, they are simply saying schools make their own decisions and you have to find the funding to cover the fees. They will never be accountable for anything anymore."

Tasmanian Organisation of State Schools Association president Jenny Eddington said a number of schools had cut camps altogether, or replaced them with day excursions.

She said this was a result of cuts following last year's budget.

"Schools had cutbacks in staffing and they were struggling to get staff to cover camps," she said.

"It certainly is an equity issue. The Gonski model of funding addressed these sorts of funding issues for low socio-economic schools."