State schools are set for a shake-up, with the Andrews government vowing to wind back the Coalition's "autonomy agenda", saying it had left principals feeling abandoned and struggling to cope with growing demands.

A week after being sworn in as Victoria's new education minister, Deputy Premier James Merlino has unveiled plans to give principals more support, reinstate key learning programs and target additional funding for disadvantaged students.



The government plans to overhaul Victoria's four school regions – which can stretch as far as "Albert Park to Mallacoota", with not enough support staff in between – and deploy more education officials to cover them, Mr Merlino said.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, James Merlino. Credit:Penny Stephens

Programs such as Reading Recovery and literacy and numeracy coaches might be revived, and schools could know within weeks how much state and federal money they are getting under the Gonski funding model, which Mr Merlino has promised to distribute as it was always intended – based on need.

"If there's one clear message across every school I visited and every principal I spoke to, almost all of them would say they've never felt more isolated or more alone," he told The Sunday Age.