New Education Act passes Tas parliament

Changes to Tasmania's Education Act, including an option to start school at age four-and-a-half, have passed parliament despite widespread community concern.

The Liberal state government has reformed the act in an attempt to improve literacy and numeracy rates that have been among the worst in Australia, but some groups argue important issues such as class size should have been given higher priority.

"This bill is part of our long-term plan to improve education results in Tasmania and ... will help close the gap where currently Tasmanian students can receive up to two years less schooling than their interstate counterparts," Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said after the act passed parliament on Tuesday.