School principals across Victoria are preparing for back to school with an extra special delivery.
Mount View Primary School principal Glenn Butler is one of many who received RAT testing kits on Monday, ahead of the beginning of term one.
It's part of more than 14 million testing kits going to schools as part of a four-week surveillance regime for students and staff.
Some 6.6 million of the RATs will be delivered to government, Catholic and independent primary and secondary schools before the start of term one, as well as kindergartens and childcare centres.
Parents will be tasked with testing their children from home twice a week and notifying the school if a result is positive.
Premier Daniel Andrews says the RATs will be doled out to schools across the state in the lead-up to classes returning on January 31.
"It is about finding as many cases as we can and shutting down those chains of transmission," he told reporters on Sunday.
The cost of supplying the tests will be split 50/50 between the Victorian and federal governments under an existing arrangement.
A third immunisation dose will also become compulsory for Victorian teachers and other education staff by February 25, or within three months and two weeks of when they had their second jab.
Education Minister James Merlino says 99.7 per cent of staff were double-dose vaccinated by the end of term four last year.
Air purifiers have also been delivered to Victorian public and low-fee independent schools to increase ventilation in classrooms and other areas.
In addition, a pool of inactive or retired teachers, principals and other education staff are being recruited to plug expected COVID-related gaps in the workforce after term one begins.
Australian Associated Press
