Germany recruits 8,500 teachers to teach German to child refugees

Around 325,000 school-aged children from war-torn countries reached Germany in 2015

Refugee mothers with their children look through games and books during the presentation of a new initiative to help children of refugees learn to read German at a shelter for migrants and refugees on 16 December, 2015 in Berlin, Germany (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Germany has recruited 8,500 teachers to teach German to thousands of child refugees escaping from war-torn countries in the Middle East.

Around 196,000 child refugees will enter the German school system this year, and 8,264 "special classes" have been created to help them catch up, German daily newspaper Die Welt reported.

According to Germany's education authority, around 325,000 school-aged children from Syria, Afghanistan and African countries reached Germany in 2015.

It is expecting more than a million refugees this year, five times more than in 2014.

However, the challenge may be more difficult than simply teaching foreign students a new language.

Many refugee children have lost years of education and one-in-five child refugees arriving in Germany have post-traumatic stress disorder, the Guardian reports.

Brunhild Kurth, who heads the education authority, told Die Welt: "Schools and education administrations have never been confronted with such a challenge.

"We must accept this exceptional situation will become the norm for a long time to come."