Teacher Education in Pakistan: Issues and Problems 2020: Muneeba Tahira Ayesha Hassan
Teacher Education in Pakistan: Issues and Problems 2020: Muneeba Tahira Ayesha Hassan
Teacher Education in Pakistan: Issues and Problems 2020: Muneeba Tahira Ayesha Hassan
2020
Teacher education is an essential and critical part of every educational system and
therefore plays a key and fundamental role in improving quality and enhancing the educational
system. The goal of the study was to present an overall picture of teacher education in Pakistan
in the context of education policies, quantitative expansion, provision of education for pre- and
in-service teachers, particularly by the public sector, initiatives undertaken by the public sector to
improve the quality of teacher education and to highlight the issues and problems of teacher
training. Since, 1947 Pakistan has grown tremendously in the number of teacher training
institutions. Teacher education is an important area of concern in the education system in
Pakistan, so every educational policy paper has discussed teacher education and suggested
various measures to improve teacher education. These measures, however, were implemented in
parts and pieces, hence, could not bring the desired results. The quality of public-sector
education declined over a given period of time thus provided the space for private sector which
emerged as a strong competitor in the education sector by enrolling one-third of students at all
educational levels.
Introduction
Teacher education is crucial component of education system and it plays a pivotal role in
the quality improvement and strengthening of education system. Ahmad (2012) stated that
through as they prepare to enter the classroom for the first time in their role as teachers. She
argued that teacher training satisfies both the theoretical and practical needs of teaching
environment. Ali (2011) contended that teacher‘s quality is determined by the level of
he or she brings to the teaching profession. Teachers’ lacking required level of professional
competence is usually attributed to the dysfunctional teacher education system. The role of
teachers for formulating of an innovative society is very critical because teachers’ knowledge
and skills not only enhance the quality and efficiency of education but also facilities to create an
environment conducive for research and innovation. Khan (2011) found that the teacher occupies
the most crucial position in the entire spectrum of educational activities; he/she influences
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personal, social and economic lives of people, and he / she needs to be educated with great care
and expertise.
Pakistan became an independent state in 1947 and its entire educational system was
geared to produce a class of people who were supposed to serve the bureaucracy to perpetuate
the old socio-economic order in the country. The socio-economic structure was created by the
colonial powers to exploit the masses of the sub-continent. All curricula, textbooks and teaching
and learning materials were, therefore, devised to serve the cause of the vested interests and not
for creation of a dynamic and progressive society Farooq (1993). Historically teacher training in
Pakistan can be traced back to 1804 when two teacher-training institutions were established at
Lahore and Karachi and these institutions provided non-formal teacher training programs. In
1854 the institution at Karachi was made a normal school and it began to offer J.V. (Junior
Vernacular) certificate. The institution at Lahore was made normal school and offered J.V,
certificate in 1856 (Shah et al., 2011). At the time of independence in 1947, there were 22 teacher
training institutions in Pakistan. For admission in these institutions, the pre scribed qualifications
were Elementary and High school. After the completion of training, the trainees were awarded
certificates as Junior Vernacular (JV) and Senior Vernacular (SV). Those having J.V certificates
were eligible for appointment as a teacher in primary schools called JV teacher and those having
S.V. were eligible for appointment as a teacher of elementary education level Siddiqui (2004).
The main objective of this paper was to review the existing situation of teacher education
in Pakistan. This paper has tried to present summarized picture of teacher education in Pakistan in
the context of education policies, quantitative expansion, provision of pre and in-service teachers’
3
education especially by public sector, initiatives undertaken by public sector for improvement of
quality of teacher education and highlighting issues and problems of teacher education. The main
sources for development of this paper was secondary data, however, efforts were made that the
sources of data used in this paper should be valid and authentic. The available literature on teacher
education i.e. education policies, reports, research studies, research articles published in various
national and journals, and education statistics compiled by Academy of Educational Planning and
Moreover, relevant information and materials were also obtained from Provincial Institute of
Development, Punjab and Directorate of Curriculum and Teacher Education, Abbottabad and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
teacher education; therefore, in each policy document various measures have been proposed to
improve the quality of teacher education. A brief review of education policy documents
The first National Education Conference was convened in Karachi on November 1947
soon after emerging Pakistan as an independent country. The main purpose this conference was
to provide directions and guidance for future development of education in view of socio-
economic needs of newly independent state. In his message to this conference the Quaid-i-Azam,
There is no doubt that the future of our State will and must greatly depend upon
the type of education we give to our children, and the way in which we bring them up as
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future citizens of Pakistan. Education does not merely mean academic education. There is
an immediate and urgent need to give a scientific and technical education to our people in
highlighted the importance of well trained and well paid teaching profession and suggested
proper training of teachers and adequate scales of salary (GoP, MoI, 1947, p.21).
resources and lack of institutional arrangements for integrated planning at national level as a
result pre-independent pattern of education was continued without any major strategic and
structural changes.Moreover, there was no national development plan till 1951 to incorporate the
schemes of federal and provincial governments used to examined and approved by Development
Board of Central Government; however, these schemes were not integrated towards achieving
policy objectives.
the whole education system and came up with pragmatic recommendations. The Commission
noted that “no system of education is better than its teachers”(GoP, MoE, 1959, p.259). The
Commission highlighted the characteristics for a successful teacher such as “he should be
academically well trained in the subject he teaches; he should have had sound professional
training…” (GoP, MoE, 1959, p.259). Moreover, the Commission also recommended minimum
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qualifications for admission to the training courses for teachers at various levels of education and
The main theme of the Commission report was the recognition to the fact that the funding
on education was an essential national investment which was prerequisite for socio-economic
development of the country. The concept was endorsed in the in the national second five year
plan by giving due consideration to include essential recommendations of the Commission for
implementation. Shahid (1985) argued that teacher training institutions were improved in terms
of equipment and staff and they arranged refresher courses for teachers. A program for
education programs, introducing innovative techniques, and improving facilities for teacher
education to meet the massive requirements of teachers at all stages. It recommended the
introduction of Education subject at Secondary, Higher Secondary and Degree levels to prepare
teachers for primary, middle (elementary) and high (secondary) levels. Moreover, the policy
further suggested an increase in number of female teachers at all levels especially at primary
level by relaxing academic and training requirements in special cases(GoP, MoE, 1972, p.23).As
a result of this policy decision, the teacher education curriculum was revised and improvised in
1976 (Khan, 2011, p.105). Shahid (1985, p.41) stated that this policy was implemented to a great
education extension centers and in-service training centers in the provinces so as to enable them
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to provide at least one in-service training facility to every teacher during every five years. It also
suggested strengthening of the in-service training facilities of the Allama Iqbal Open University
(AIOU). The policy proposed that all the primary teachers training institutions and normal
schools would be up-graded to the Colleges of Elementary Teachers. The curricula of pre-service
teacher education programs will be evaluated and suitable modifications will be made in the light
of the findings of the evaluation reports. (GoP, MoE, 1979, p.63). In pursuance of NEP (1979)
Education (Khan, 2011, p.106). Despite the steps recommended for quality improvement at all
levels of education by the policy, the quality aspects were lagged beyond.
National Education Policy (1992) advocated to equip and strengthen Teacher Training
Institutions and to provide training to faculty of these institution. It proposed a regular in-service
training program for teachers at all levels including inter-alia distance education methods. The
NEP (1992) suggested up-gradation of Teacher training curricula and setting up a national
commission for teachers (GoP, MoE, 1992, p.26). The policy was interrupted half way due to the
Education (BA.Ed.); special incentives for teachers to attract talented students into teaching
profession as well as special incentives for rural female to join teaching profession, introduction
of new stream of vocational and technical training and creation of cadre of teacher educator. It
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holders) with three years durationto enable prospective teachers to obtain integrated training both
in school subjects and pedagogical skills. The policy also suggested recruitment of 70% female
Government of Pakistan initiated Education Sector Reforms (ESRs) as an action plan for
implementation of NEP (1998-2010) in 2001.The teacher education was considered and included
under quality assurance.The quality assurance under ESRs put emphasis on teacher education
and training especially up- gradation and rehabilitation of teacher training institutes, revision of
(GoP, MoE, 2001, p.35-36).Under ESRs, Diploma in Education was launched to upgrade teacher
professional qualification to 12+11/2 years replacing Primary Teaching Certificate (PTC) and
Certificate in Teaching (CT). About 175,000 teachers/master trainers were trained and 250
Teacher Resource Centers were established across the country (GoP, MoE, 2003, p.17-18).
Many innovative programs such as curriculum reforms, multiple textbooks, and teacher training
programs were initiated. National Education Assessment was established to monitor the learning
achievement of students Iqbal (2011). However, ESRs were not fully implemented due to
financial crunch.
The current National Education Policy (NEP) was developed in consultation with all
Bachelor degree with a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.)as a minimum requirement for teaching at
the elementary level and Master degree with B.Ed for teaching at secondary and higher
secondary levels. It also suggested that PTC and CT shall be phased out through encouraging the
present set of teachers to improve their qualifications, whereas, new hiring of teachers shall be
based on advanced criteria. The policy further recommended that Diploma Education (D.Ed.)
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may be used as an Intermediate qualification till B.Ed teachers are available universally. The
policy advocated for adjustment of teachers education curriculum to the need of school
Pakistan. In the Concurrent List two entries i.e. 38 & 39 dealt with education. These entries
List, it has remained in the shared legislative jurisdiction of Federation and Provinces. Federal
Ministry of Education was responsible for development and coordination of national education
policies, plans and curriculum. The Provinces were to develop and implement their own plans in
accordance with national policies and plans. With passage of 18thConstitutional Amendment in
2010,the Concurrent Legislative List of the 1973 Constitution was abolished and education was
shifted to legislative and executive jurisdiction of the provinces. The devolution of policy and
planning to the provinces has put the status of National Education Policy (NEP) 2009 in doubt.
Moreover, as a result of 18th Amendment, the Federal Ministry of Education was abolished and
there was no organization at federal level to coordinate and monitor the implementation of NEP
2009 (Government of Punjab, School Education Department & giz,2011; Institute of Social and
National Education Conference was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister on
September 16, 2011 and a ‘Joint Declaration on Education’ was issued. According to the Joint
Declaration on Education, “National Education Policy 2009, subject to such adaptations as are
9
necessitated in view of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, shall continue to be jointly owned
national document” (UNESCO, 2011). All the provincial governments have adopted the NEP
2009 and they have not developed their own education policies. They have developed their
education sector plans which were based on NEP 2009 guidelines. After establishment of Federal
Ministry of Education and Professional Training, Inter Provincial Education Minister Conference
(IPEM) has been revived in 2014 which provides a coordination platform with provinces to
discuss matters relating to implementation status of NEP 2009, Article 25-A and international
treaties and conventions signed by the country. The first meeting of IPEM was held in February
2014 and attended by all provincial and area governments’ education ministers and secretaries.
Since independence, the government of Pakistan has produced seven major education
policy documents. The main focus of these policies was on access to education, equity, quality of
education, medium of instruction, science education and Islamic education. Each policy
highlighted the importance of teacher education and its impact on quality of education. These
policies contemplated on issues and problems of teacher education and suggested various
measures to improve the quality of teacher education. However, measures suggested by these
policies were partially implemented consequently the desired results could not achieve. Ahmad
(2012) maintained that the policy documents in Pakistan were the result of extensive research but
their implementation left much to be desired, so that not one policy achieved its declared goals
nor the targets of time set for realizing these goals. Firstly, there was no genuine widespread
ownership of policy goals by the majority of stakeholders and secondly, the strategies and plans
developed to achieve the policy goals were unrealistic and did not have the support of identified
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Teaching work force
institutions in the country comprised of 267,955 of which 180,926 (67%) were in public sector and
87,659(33%) were in private sector. The total enrolment of students in all categories of education
institutions consist of 44.435 million of which 27.387 million (62%) students enrolled in public
sector education institutions and 17.048 million (38%) students enrolled in private sector
education institutions. It was observed that 33% Education Institutions in the private sector are
facilitating 38% students from pre-Primary up-to tertiary levels whereas in public sector 68%
education institutions are facilitating 63% of students from pre-primary up-to tertiary level (GoP,
AEPAM, 2016).
The total number of teachers consisted of 1,652,141 out of which 859,608 (52%) teachers
were in public sector and 792,533 (48%) in private sector. The overall education system is
served by 42% male teachers and 58% female teachers. Majority of teachers in public sector i.e.
96% are trained with required professional qualifications. (GoP, AEPAM, 2016). The number of
Table 1
Number of teaching staff by level and gender up to degree colleges during Year
2014-15
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Middle 124,734 256,051 380785
Source:(i) Pakistan Education Statistics 2014-15, AEPAM, Ministry of Federal Education and Training, Islamabad
The pupil teacher ratio at primary level is 33, at middle level it is 23 and at secondary
level it is 24 (GoP, AEPAM, 2016).In both public and private sector for every three primary
schools there is one middle school: for every two middle schools there is one secondary school.
In case of public sector, for every eight primary schools there is one middle school and for every
Currently there are 206 teachers training institutions in the country with the enrolment of
722,728. Out of total teaching training institutions, 155(75%) teacher training institutions with
the enrolment of 717,557 (99%) are in public sector,51 (25%) teacher training institutions with
the enrolment of 5,171 (1%) are in private institutions. Out of the total institutions, 50 (24%)
institutions are for male, 41(10%) institutions are for female and 115(56%) institutions are with
co-education. Female students accounted for about 34% to all students enrolled in teacher
training institutions. Out of total institutions,63(31%) institutions are located in Punjab, 64 (31%)
institutions in Sindh, 39 (19%) institutions in KP, 12 (6%) in Balochistan, 7(3%) in ICT and the
rest21 (10%) teacher training institutions are located in FATA, GB and AJK. The total number
of teachers in teacher training institutions is 3,733 of which 3,444 (92%) teachers in public sector
certificates, diplomas and advance training program leading to B. Ed. (Bachelor of Education),
M.Ed. (Master of Education), M.Phil., and Ph.D. (Doctorate in Education). Most of the
The public sector teacher training institutions are located throughout the country which
provides both pre-service and in-service training to teachers. There are two types of training
opportunities for prospective teachers and serving teachers i.e. pre-service and in-service. A brief
(i) Pre-service: Pre-service education includes all the stages of education and training that
precede the teacher‘s entry to paid employment in a school. The primary purpose of pre-service
numbers to meet the needs of every school in every geographical location. Pre-service teacher
training programs equip teachers with skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to take up
The pre-service training to Primary (I-V) and Elementary (VI-VIII) teachers is imparted
in College of Elementary Teachers. Siddiqui (2004) stated that primary teachers were trained in
normal schools of teacher training from 1947 to 1978, however, after 1978 all the teacher
training schools were rename as Colleges for Elementary Teachers (p.44). The minimum
primary teacher areSecondary School Certificate (ten years education). The duration of training
program is one year. After completion of training program, Primary Teaching Certificate
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(PTC)was awarded which makes teachers eligible to teach at primary level. Admission
requirements for Certificate of Teaching (CT) are Higher Secondary School Certificate and the
duration of training is one year. Certificate of Teaching enables teachers to teach at elementary
level (Shami & Hussain, 2006; GoP, MoE, 2004). Presently both PTC and CT programs have
been discontinued instead Associate Degree in Education has been offered by various teacher
Allama Iqbal Open University was established at federal level in 1974 and it is an
autonomous distance learning institution that offers courses in education for managers, planners
and teachers. Its courses include pre-service and in-service programs for teacher certification and
other graduate and post graduate professional qualifications in education. It enrolls 10,000
students annually for various certifications and diplomas (GoP, MoE, 2004, p.12).
Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is a one year program after Bachelor of Arts (BA)/
affiliated to universities. B.Ed. degree holders are eligible to teach at secondary schools. Students
from Arts stream are trained to teach subjects like history, civics, geography and languages in
Secondary schools whereas students from Science stream are trained to teach mathematics,
physics, chemistry and biology in secondary schools. Khan & Saeed (2009) found that “the
B.Ed. pre-service teacher education program at University of Education (UE) is relatively better
in the curriculum content areas of lesson planning, lesson presentation, and assessment skills, but
the areas of use of audio-visual aids and teaching techniques/methods are weak” (p.94).
A three year course in science education after higher secondary school certificate leads to
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elementary and secondary schools (GoP, MoE, 2004, p.6-12; Shami & Hussain, 2006).
Associate Degree in Education is a new program that was introduced in 2010 in some
provinces.The degree in Education was a two years pre service teacher education degree linked
to B.Ed. (honors). The content and pedagogy of programme considered equal to Bachelor of
Education. The pre-requisites for admission in Associate Degree in Education program is Higher
Secondary School Certificate (twelve years education)and its duration is two years (Khan,
2011p.112-113).
Master of Arts in Education (MAEd) is a two years program after Bachelor of Arts (BA)/
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and Master of Education (M.Ed.) is one year program after B.Ed.
of various universities. The graduates of these institutions are eligible to teach in elementary,
secondary and higher secondary schools. Moreover, universities also offer M.Phil. and PhD
programs in the field of education; however, for getting admission in these programs, the
candidates have to qualify the GRE tests, both General and Subject GRE conducted by the
National Testing Service (NTS) of Pakistan(Shami & Hussain, 2006; GoP, MoE, 2004; Malik,
1999; Khan, 2011).The curricula of B.Ed., M.Ed. and M.A Education are determined by the
Higher Education Commission of Pakistan whereas curriculum for Diploma in Education used to
determine by Curriculum and Extension Wing of the then Ministry of Education (Khan, 2011, p.
116).
the field of Education in Pakistan. The main purpose of this university is to promote education
in general and teacher education in particular. It deals with all levels of education right from
school to university level. It offers degree programs ranging from Bachelor to Ph.D. in education
15
and other disciplines. University of Education is a multi-campus institution which consists of
five divisions and ten campuses. Presently the University has enrolled about 12,968 students in
various programs and disciplines of education. The University also has forty-five affiliated
Government Colleges for Elementary Teachers (GCETs).About 127,894 students graduated from
There is a general perception about pre-service of prospective teachers that these teachers
try to obtain a professional degree/certificate from teacher training institutions to make them
eligible for the job of teaching, and not to improve the quality of instruction imparted to the
programs do not have quality course content to comply with the National Professional Standards
nor prepare teachers who can implement the 2006 National Scheme of Studies for K-12 grades”
(p.12). Arshad &Naseem (2013) found that trained teachers are more effective in their
departments of education to update and refresh their knowledge, skills and competence. In-
service teacher training enhances the professional competency of teachers by refreshing the
techniques, activities and learning experiences. In-service teacher training ensures that the
acquired skills, knowledge and attitudes continue to grow and improve with the changing times
(Shah, Kiani, Mahmood & Hussain, 2011, p.41). As per policy recommendation each teacher
must have the opportunity for in-service training at least once every five years. However,
presently a primary teacher usually gets in-service training opportunity after 13 years,
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elementary school teacher gets an opportunity of in-service training after eight years and
secondary school teacher gets this opportunity after 16 years (GoP, MoE, 2004).
(iii) Teacher Education has been considered as provincial subject. Each province has
a centralized organizational structure for teacher education. In Balochistan and Sindh Provinces,
Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Center/Wing is responsible for pre & in-service teacher
training. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Directorate of Education and Teacher Education handles pre
& in-service teacher training in the province. In these three provinces, in-service training
province, Directorate of Staff Development is responsible for in-service teacher training. At the
federal level in-service teacher education is conducted by the National Institute of Science and
Technology Education (NISTE) (GoP, MoE, 2009, p.7; Memon, 2007 p.49-50). Abrief review of
organizational set up of in-service teacher training across the provinces is given below.
In the Punjab, Directorate of Staff Development (DSD) was established in 2004 as an apex
body responsible for both pre-service and continuous professional development programs for
teachers, head teachers, teacher educators and other related personnel whose work affect the quality
of learning at schools. Its main functions includes: In-service training of government school
teachers and other related staff; identifying and proposing structures and procedures enabling
quality learning and coordination with other government organizations imparting pre-service
administrative control of DSD in 2006 and Punjab Institute of Teacher Education (PITE) merged
with DSD in 2009.Presently 29 Government Colleges for Elementary Teachers (GCETS) with over
7000 enrolment of pre-service students are functioning under the administrative control of DSD. Out
of total, 22 GCETs also function as District Training and Support Centers (DTSCs). DSD has an
17
elaborate network of cluster training and support centers for in-service training of teachers at district
level. Clustering brings together group of schools and centrally located school to function as a
Cluster and Support Center from teacher support activities for primary school teachers. All
Districtsof the province were included in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program in
2011 by establishing District Training and Support Centre (DTSCs) with the mandate to plan,
facilitate, coordinate and implement in-service training and professional developmental activities at
the district level for the Primary, Elementary, Secondary and Higher Secondary school teachers.DSD
has trained more than 626,000 Teachers, Head Teachers, Master Trainers and Principals of
education in last five years i.e. 2010-2014(GoP, DSD, 2014; Javed, Jaun & Nazli, 2012; GoP, MoE,
2009).
In Sindh province, Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Wing and Provincial Institute of
Teachers Education are the main organizations responsible for both pre-service and in-service
Centre, Teacher Training Centre and Training Outposts are working under the administrative
control of Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Wing. The Boards of Intermediate and
Secondary Education are the examining and certification bodies for the teacher education
courses. The Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Wing also undertake curriculum development
for teacher education and text book development in collaboration with Sindh Text Book Board.
The PITE in Sindh province caters to the in-service needs of teachers. PITE also develops
materials for teacher education and conducts research. For in-service teacher training program,
the services of faculty of Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Wing and Government
Elementary College (Education) are utilized. So there is collaboration between PITE and Bureau
in provision of in-service training. However, PITE neither has a regular budget nor a regular
18
program for in-service teacher training and usually conducts teacher training on the request of
(RITE), Government College of Physical Education and a Government Agro Technical Teachers
Training Centre. Provincial Institute of Teacher Education conducts in service training program
for teachers and it uses the services of faculty of Bureau, RITE, in addition to its own staff. The
PITE reports directly to Secretary Education Department and it is working directly under the
In Balochistan, the Bureau of Curriculum has the administrative, financial and academic
control of Government Elementary College for Teachers and College of Education which offer
teacher education and it is also the examining and certification bodies for the PTC and CT
to 15 days in-service training courses mostly sponsored by donor agencies. The Bureau also
conducts management courses for head of schools. Provincial Institute of Teacher Education
(PITE) conducts in service courses for primary and middle school teachers. PITE Balochistan is
working under the administrative control of Bureau of Curriculum; however, it does not get
regular budget from the provincial government for its regular activities such as in service teacher
training and material development so in most cases the in-service teacher training programs are
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Private sector providers have mushroomed in teacher training as a response to the
growing need for different types of requirements for teacher training which the public sector may
not have been able to provide. Teacher training institutions in Pakistan also include autonomous
bodies, private universities, and degree awarding and chartered institutions which also provide
pre-service training to prospective teachers (UNESCO/USAID & ITA, 2008). Well established
chains of private schools such as City School System and the Beacon House System have their
own training facilities where the teachers are given training in various branches spread across the
country, but most others private sector schools do not provide training to their teachers (Aly,
2007 p.23). The quality of education imparted by the majority of private schools is questionable
due to shortage of properly trained and qualified teachers. Majority of teachers appointed by
private sector have academic qualification up to intermediate (12 years of schooling) or Bachelor
level (14 years of education) and they are paid much lower salaries compared to their
counterparts in the public sector. Moreover, the teachers working in private sector have no job
security and private sector hires very few teachers who have any pre-service training (Memon,
(CIDA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Bank (WB),
Asian Development Bank (ADB), Department for International Development (DFID), European
Commission (EC), UNICEF and UNESCO are supporting teacher education in Pakistan
(UNESCO/USAID & ITA, 2008, p.13).Most of donor funded programs have focused on in-
enormously contributed to teacher education in Pakistan. However, most of the donor funded
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projects seem to have emphasized achieving quantitative targets rather than focusing on
Republic of Pakistan, school curricula for grades I-XII including curriculum and text-books for
PTC and CT was the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, Curriculum Wing. Each
province has a Curriculum Bureau or Curriculum Research and Development Centre (CRDC)
which had a close liaison with Curriculum Wing of Federal Ministry of Education and provided
academic support to the Ministry for curriculum development. Usually Ministry of Education
had provided broad guidelines to provincial Education departments and sought their expert
opinion. The curriculum draft was finalized by the National Curriculum Review Committee,
i.e. curriculum, syllabus, planning, policy, centers of excellence and standards of education came
under the purview of the provincial governments. The National Curriculum 2006 and National
Textbook and Learning Materials Policy 2007 were developed in consultation with federating
units. All provinces have adopted the National Curriculum 2006 and developed textbooks even
curriculum including the curriculum for Bachelor and Master level programs in education is the
responsibility of respective departments of the universities or colleges. The title of courses and
broader framework are usually discussed by the faculty, and then each teacher plans in his/her
own way to impart instructions in the classrooms. Moreover, in order to bring uniformity in
curriculum for tertiary education, the Higher Education Commission also prepares curriculum
outlines through various committees with the membership from teacher education institutions.
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These outlines are provided to the universities as guidelines and minimum requirements (Saeed,
knowledge and skills of teachers. Most of the experts are of the view that present mechanism of
in-service teacher training in Pakistan is supply driven rather than demand driven. The in-service
program of teachers does not improve the skills and knowledge of teachers and it has little
impact on the students’ achievement. All provinces are providing in-service training to teachers;
however, most of the provinces do not have a regular program due to lack of funds. Therefore,
these programs in most cases are sponsored by donor agencies. In most of the provinces, the
database of the trained teachers are not maintained properly consequently the same teachers are
trained a number of times. The duration of in-service varies from one week to one month and it
also varies across the provinces. Ali (2011) argued that “ the literature is consistent in
emphasizing the correlation between the steady declination in the status of teaching profession,
particularly poor quality of initial and in-service training imparted to teachers and poor students'
learning outcomes recorded over years inPakistan” (p.210). However, Shah, Kiani, Mahmood,&
Hussain, (2011) found that trained graduate teachers with in-service training performed better on
the aspects of teaching methodology, use of audio-visual aids and application of evaluation
Initiatives
education in Pakistan. The Ministry of Education adopted and notified ten National Professional
Standards for teachers in Pakistan in 2008. These standards are designed to define competencies,
22
skills and attributes deemed as essential targets for beginning teachers, accomplished master
teachers, teacher educators and other educational specialists. The standards are to guide the
standardsfor teachers have been developed by Ministry of Federal Education and Professional in
consultation with provinces which were discussed in the Inter Provincial Education Conference
integrated quality assurance and management service for higher learning. Higher Education
Commission has also established National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education
(NACTE) in 2007. The main purpose of NACTE is to ensure and enhance the quality of teacher
education and to accredit all teacher education programs offered in the public and private sector
institutions in the country. NACTE has developed National Standards for accreditation of
Teacher Education Programs. These standards define the requirements for specific and essential
components of a teacher education program. They guide towards the detailed documentation of
Punjab province has raised the minimum academic qualification for recruitment of
elementary (I-VIII) teachers to Bachelor degree with B.Ed. as professional qualification and
MA/MS with M.Ed. for secondary school teachers since 2003. Following the recommendations
of NEP 2009, most of the provinces have enhanced the academic qualification to intermediate
(12 years education) with Associate Degree in Education or Bachelor degree with B.Ed. for
recruitment of elementary school teachers. For secondary teachers the minimum academic and
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The teacher training institutions used to offer certification courses, i.e. PTC and CT to
primary and elementary teachers with the duration of nine months resulting inadequate quality
teachers. The PTC and CT programs have been discontinued in all provinces instead they have
introduced two years Associate Degree in Education (ADE) and four years B.Ed Honor program;
however, the holders of PTC/CT qualifications are eligible for recruitment as primary and
Teacher training in Pakistan has been confronted to various challenges and issues. The
Dilshad,( 2010,). Khan (2011) has identified problems pertaining to teacher education
and stated “the quality of education provided in the government schools of Pakistan had been
poor due to low levels of teacher competence, lack of classroom-based support for teachers, lack
24
critical teaching and learning materials, and weak sector governance and management” (p.83-
84). Moreover, findings of various studies indicate that the staff of the GCET is poorly trained
and under-motivated and they use inappropriate teaching methods (Ali, 1998, p.5).
In Pakistan, the teaching profession has never been of prime importance rather
professions like engineering, medical and other professions. This profession is unable to attract
potential candidates having outstanding academic records due to lesser incentives, slow
promotions and lesser fringe benefits. Usually graduates who are unable to get any job in other
sector, turn to the teaching profession as a last resort (Rashid and Mukhtar, 2012, p.335). A
major criticism of teacher education particularly in the public sector is that it has not resulted in
improvement in student learning outcomes commensurate to the volume of inputs which have
been allocated to in-service trainings however, teacher education cannot be seen as the sole
The quality of teachers is poor due to low level of educational qualification both
academic and professional required to become a primary school teacher. It has been established
through different studies that pupil achievement is closely related to number of years of formal
schooling of teachers. The other factors responsible for low quality of teacher education include
inadequately trained master trainers, lack of monitoring and support system, little emphasis on
teaching practices and no accredited institution to certify teachers (Memon, Joubish, and
Khurram, 2010, P.673). Huma (2013) argued that “in Pakistan there is no other examination or
test to assess teachers competence for certification than the exams conducted by the universities
at the end of courses and programs” (p.303).Ali (2011,p.210) maintained that in-service and pre-
service teacher education programs of most of the public sector institutions are of substandard
and based on textbook and examination. He also contended that the teaching methods used by
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these institutions are predominantly base on chalk-and-talk, memorization or lectures. While
discussing the key management issues, Aly (2007) argued that “majority of the stakeholders are
of the view that recruitment, transfers and postings of teachers are heavily influenced by political
intervention – the degree varying in various parts of the country” (p.13.) He further stated that
teacher training is donor driven and there is no recurrent budgetallocated for the purpose.
Conclusion
Pakistan has made tremendous expansion in number of teacher training institutions since
its inception as independent sovereign state. Each education policy document has deliberated on
teacher education and recognized the pivotal role of teachers in quality improvement. These
policy documents presented various measures to improve teacher education; however, these
measures were half-heartedly implemented, consequently the desired results could not be
achieved. It is encouraging to note that some initiatives have been introduced, these initiatives
may have a positive impact on the quality of teacher education. However, the existing literature
on teacher education in Pakistan has deliberated extensively and identified the most common
issues. Hence the quality of education in Pakistan is substantially dependent up on the quality of
teaching force, therefore, the challenges being faced by the teacher education needs very serious
considerations.
26
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