Announcing the appeal on Wednesday at the STUC in Glasgow, Ronnie Smith, the union’s general secretary, said: “Teachers are central in bringing young people together, in providing essential services and in helping reduce the long-term effects of trauma and alienation.”

Details of the EIS appeal to schools, colleges and universities are still being finalised. But the union wants aid to bring educational support to children in refugee camps, as well as helping teachers in Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro in dealing with the exodus from Serbia.

The plight of Kosovo was outlined to the STUC by Agim Hyseni, president of the Union of Education, Science and Culture of Kosova. Like the EIS, it is affiliated to Education International, which has launched the appeal worldwide.

Mr Smith said: “When communities are rebuilt following tragedy, educational provision and the work of teachers are an essential part of the infrastructure which will allow communities to survive and develop.”

The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association said it would always support such appeals as it has done in the past in cases of natural disasters or civil strife.