ON World Teachers’ Day, Pakistan paid tribute to the people entrusted with educating its children. In his October 5 message, the prime minister emphasised professional training, modern resources and supportive learning environments. He also highlighted the National Institute of Excellence in Teacher Education in Islamabad. These commitments deserve attention. They also invite an uncomfortable question: what should a teacher be able to do differently after completing a training programme?

The answer matters because educational reform ultimately reaches children through ordinary lessons. A curriculum can prescribe critical thinking. A policy can prioritise foundational literacy. Yet each initiative depends on a teacher who can explain an unfamiliar idea, recognise a misunderstanding and adjust instruction. Professional development is the connection between policy ambition and that daily encounter. Its value should therefore be judged where teaching happens.

Certificates have a legitimate administrative purpose. They record participation and can recognise professional effort. The difficulty begins when participation becomes the principal evidence of improvement. A workshop attendance sheet tells us who entered the training room. It does not tell us whether a teacher now asks better questions, gives clearer feedback or helps a struggling reader. Punjab alone has run in-service programmes for decades through the Directorate of Staff Development and its successor, the Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development. Yet the latest ASER survey finds that only about half of Class 5 children can read a Class 2 story in........

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