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QUEENSLAND school children could complete an extra year of school as part of a massive education system shake-up planned by the State Government.
The preparatory year for four-year-olds could be compulsory in primary schools by as early as 2005.
Premier Peter Beattie will also pump $60 million into new school computers over the next two years to drive his vision of the Smart State.
He has also asked for public input into a proposal to increase the minimum school leaving age from 15 to as old as 17 to ensure all young Queenslanders are either "learning or earning".
The proposals, under development for six months, have won strong backing from teachers, parents and education experts.
University of Queensland School of Education head, Professor Allan Luke, said: "Hopefully, it's the nail in the coffin to the anti-intellectual Queensland."
The Queensland Teachers Union welcomed the new measures.
"We are serious about being the Smart State so we need to take a serious look at our education and training system and how it can be improved," he said. "We want an exceptional system that equips our young people to keep pace with the rapid pace of change in our society."
Over the next two years 50 schools would conduct a $12.5 million trial of the extra year of schooling. Under the trial, pre-schools would be transformed into prep schools offering full-year learning to children aged four to five.
Although attendance would not be compulsory, experience in other states had shown 97 per cent of parents would send their children to preparatory school.