Role and status of refugee teachers to be explored at Commonwealth meeting

Supporting teachers’ right to work after they are forced to migrate due to conflict and natural disasters, is one of the topics of a Commonwealth symposium on teacher mobility from 8 to 9 June.

The 6th Commonwealth Research Symposium on Teacher Mobility, Recruitment and Migration in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will focus on the role and status of refugee teachers and the provision of education in difficult circumstances, following conflict or natural disasters.

The symposium is organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa.
    
Education Adviser in the Social Transformation Programmes Division at the Secretariat, Jonathan Penson, said the aim of the meeting is to find concrete recommendations for governments to adopt so migrant teachers can contribute towards high quality, inclusive education in their host country or refugee camps.

He continued: “Well managed teacher migration can contribute to increasing the quality and access to education for at-risk children, such as refugees. It is therefore critically important to provide frameworks which protect teachers, especially when cross-border migration is involuntary. It is also important to acknowledge that, formally recognised and properly supported, these same refugee teachers can present an important resource for recipient countries to educate children.”

Delegates at the symposium will include representatives from ministries of education from within the Commonwealth and beyond, and international, civil society and research organisations.

They will share their insights on the scale and issues affecting migrant teachers, including cross-border recognition of teacher qualifications and right to work; the implementation of existing protocols, such as the Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol (CTRP); and the design of new processes, to aid policy-makers in governments.

Mr Penson added: “We’re trying to find a harmonised response for teachers who migrate so that their right to pursue their profession will be respected, at the same time as not causing a negative impact on a host country’s education system or the employment opportunities of resident teachers.

“It’s about creating the right framework so a migrant teacher’s qualifications are better recognised, as well as their right to earn a living.”

Barry Sesnan, adviser to Echo Bravo in Uganda and inventor of the School-in-a-Box kit, which helps teachers to set up classrooms in emergency situations, will address participants at the two-day meeting on the challenges that migrant teachers face.