Only a few refugees succeed in teacher training

KAlmost seven years after the start of training for refugee teachers in the “Refugee Teachers Program” in Brandenburg, despite the teacher shortage only comparatively few graduates have worked in schools in the federal state. A total of 160 refugee teachers have meanwhile completed the program in five courses, 105 of them have successfully completed it, the University of Potsdam said on request. There are currently 14 refugee teachers in the qualification phase.

When the university was asked last fall, only 63 of the 105 graduates reported back, a spokeswoman for the university reported. Of these 63, 41 were employed in Brandenburg schools, 21 of them as teachers and 20 with a contract as other educational staff. Only eight of the teachers and 13 of the other educators had permanent contracts.

The Ministry of Education had reported as of November that 17 graduates were employed as teachers and 22 as other staff in public schools. The Ministry had no knowledge of the activities in free schools or in other federal states.

Native speaker level as a requirement

According to the spokeswoman, the biggest hurdle for the permanent employment of the graduates is the high language requirements. In order to be able to teach as a regular teacher, the teachers would have to prove German language skills at level C2 – this is the same as a native speaker level. “A lot of people fail because of these requirements, especially since there is no corresponding structure on offer for job-specific language courses,” explained Engel. The only part-time C2 offer in Potsdam expired at the end of last year.

Another hurdle is that many refugee teachers lack a second subject that is necessary for full recognition, it said. Therefore, the participants could study a missing school subject in the next year, which starts in April. For the first time, there is also a two-semester advanced training course with a C1 German intensive course, at least for teachers from Ukraine. In addition, five participants in the program will receive a scholarship of 250 euros per month from the Friede Springer Foundation for one year. Applications are still possible until the end of February.