Dominic Casciani BBC News Online community affairs reporter

Refugee teachers have to re-qualify

A new national taskforce aims to identify how many refugee teachers live in Britain.

Very few actually teach in schools because of the need to re-qualify to British standards.

A similar programme is currently identifying and retraining refugee doctors for the NHS.

The education taskforce is being set up by the Employability Forum, an independent body which advises government on how to integrate refugees into the jobs market.

'Untapped resource'

Bob Garnett, head of education at the London Borough of Hounslow, and chairman of the taskforce said refugee teachers were an untapped resource.

"A third of refugees in Britain have professional qualifications.

"Many are teachers or graduates who could make a major difference to our educational system.

"All over the country, education authorities are making great efforts to recruit teachers and classroom assistants, including making trips to the other side of the world.

"Yet we are squandering the talented resources that refugees have brought to us."

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) say there has been no count of the number of refugee teachers. But anecdotal evidence suggests they may make up the highest proportion of professionally qualified refugees.

By comparison, a 2002 British Medical Association survey found some 700 refugee doctors who were unable to work because they could not retrain.

Frustration

Hassan Mohamed Osman, a refugee from Somalia, said despite having years of experience he had not yet found a way into teaching.

As a refugee teacher all my qualifications didn't serve the least - it is not an overstatement if I say that I am totally disappointed Hassan Mohamed Osman, refugee teacher

"I worked as a teacher in both primary and secondary schools, in addition I worked as a teacher trainer, inspector of schools, curriculum developer and a regional director of education," said Mr Osman.

"As a refugee teacher all my qualifications didn't serve the least.

"It is not an overstatement if I say that I am totally disappointed - but I always take delight in helping students and that is what keeps me contributing to the society."

The taskforce wants to establish a national database of people such as Mr Osman and will pressure government to provide specialist retraining help to transfer the skills of refugee teachers.

Better language tuition remains key to successful integration, says the taskforce.

'Start from scratch'

Andrew Clarke, of London Metropolitan University's specialist unit which helps highly qualified refugees transfer their skills, said a quarter of clients said they had teaching backgrounds.

But while many schools were happy to take refugees as language assistants, only Scotland had made major moves into refugee teacher recruitment.

"To be a teacher in Britain, you have to retrain," said Mr Clarke.

"Refugees have to start from scratch even if they have 20 years of teaching experience."

Furthermore, language and cultural barriers made the task of getting into school life harder still, he said.

"Cultural differences are very important. Some teachers are used to rows of children sitting quietly. They come to the UK, take one look at a secondary school and decide it's not for them.

"We've seen refugees go in at the level of learning mentors or bilingual assistants and that's been useful in getting them used to the atmosphere of British schools.

"But there needs to be a career escalator that allows them go on from there if they want to."

A spokesman for the DfES said: "Refugee teachers are often well qualified and experienced.