Scores of tutors - from the ranks of retired teachers, teachers on leave, casual relief teachers, pre-service teachers and others - have been employed across Ballarat over the past year to help students struggling with learning throughout the pandemic.

At Phoenix P-12 Community College alone, at least 12 full time and part time tutors have been working with more than 400 students across all year levels struggling with 20 months of disrupted learning.

Throughout the year students have been working with tutors in breakout rooms adjoining classrooms, with a focus on different year levels during each term.

Education minister James Merlino yesterday announced $230.4 million to fund the tutor learning initiative to run throughout next year with each school receiving the same funding for tutors as this year.

"The focus for all our schools will be on student mental health and wellbeing and their learning not only for term four but to prepare them for 2022," Mr Merlino said.

"There's no question that this pandemic has been a challenge for many students - but we're making sure no Victorian child is left behind, with thousands of dedicated tutors to make sure everyone can catch up and prepare for a much better 2022," Mr Merlino said.

He said some students had thrived with the flexibility and self-direction of remote learning, but others had found it "profoundly difficult".

Schools have had the freedom to decide how best to deploy the tutors, with some working in classrooms and others with individual groups of students needing extra support, with more than 6400 tutors employed across government schools and low fee private schools across the state.

Victoria's chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton also revealed that quarantine protocols for schools will change as the state's vaccine rate increases, making it unlikely entire schools will have to close and students and staff quarantine for 14 days if a positive COVID case is identified.

A more targeted approach will see health authorities take in to account vaccination status, mask-wearing and length of exposure to the positive case in determining who needs to quarantine.

"All those elements will inform a matrix of advice on who needs to quarantine to minimise disruption for kids," Professor Sutton said.

"Classes will be at most risk obviously but other classes won't necessarily need to quarantine at home and certainly we won't have the entire school quarantined for 14 days."

The change in isolation protocols for schools follows similar changes made for supermarkets who were struggling to open with enough staff after stores became exposure sites.

Mr Merlino confirmed a small trial in to home-based rapid antigen testing for children is also underway to identify possible COVID cases before they attend school.

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The news came as authorities identified 33 positive COVID cases among 8000 VCE students from Melbourne COVID hotspots who were required to take a COVID test before sitting the General Achievement Test on Tuesday.

"We may not have found these cases otherwise, so that goes a long way to help us hold the GAT as safely as possible tomorrow," Mr Merlino said.

"The Department of Education is contacting these students and letting them know that they cannot sit the GAT and we'll make arrangements for how they can sit their exams at a later stage, if indeed, they're unable to sit any of their exams."

The infected students will not be required to sit the test.

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