REFUGEE and asylum seeker teachers should be given support to enter the profession in Scotland, a teaching union has said.

The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) argued the move would help refugees as well as addressing the current recruitment crisis in schools.

A motion to the annual general meeting of the EIS in Dundee has called for the union to lobby the Scottish Government to help refugee teachers get

registered in Scotland - which can be a lengthy and complicated process.

The move comes after councils have complained of crippling teacher shortages, with concerns the current registration process for teachers who have been working outside Scotland can be lengthy and inflexible.

Last year, seven local authorities called for a national taskforce to halt shortages including Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands and the Western Isles.

There have also been concerns over shortages of specialist teachers in key subjects such as mathematics, physics and computing with Scottish Government targets for training places not being filled.

Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS, said: "We are committed to supporting refugees and asylum seekers within the educational community and this motion is based on this commitment.

"It is essential that staff and pupils who have sought refuge in Scotland are properly supported, to allow them to settle into our schools, colleges and universities and to play a full and active part in the educational community."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Refugee Council said: "Refugees arrive in Scotland with little or no possessions, but bring with them many different talents and skills, including a background in teaching.

"They passionately want to contribute to the country that has given them protection, but face many barriers including recognition of prior qualifications."

The General Teaching Council for Scotland, the professional body of teachers, said talented, qualified teachers coming to Scotland should be harnessed to work in schools.

A spokesman said: "To this end, we have already noticed a small increase in the number of people we have registered in recent years who could be termed refugees or asylum seekers.

"We are also involved in initial discussions with University of the West of Scotland and Edinburgh University aimed at building on previous programmes to get refugees into teacher education.

"Our role is to maintain standards in Scotland’s schools and, clearly, it will be important to establish that anyone applying for registration has the appropriate experience, skills and qualifications to teach our children and young people."

Meanwhile, Pat Flanagan, the outgoing president of the EIS told the meeting one of the major concerns raised with him throughout Scotland was teacher shortages "that significantly impact on workload".

He said: "One of the difficulties faced in workforce planning is that planning is done at a national level whilst staffing decisions are taken at a local level."

He also highlighted the scale of the cuts facing council education budgets despite increasing investment through the Scottish Government's attainment fund - which channels money to schools in deprived areas.

He said: "The newly elected Scottish Government has committed to investing £750 million over five years in an attainment fund. This is of course welcome, but does not tell the full story.

"For this financial year councils report a £350m cut in cash terms in the allocation to local government. The central point is clear; the additional attainment money is topping up a bucket which is heavily leaking due to cuts at local authority level."