ISLAMABAD, September, 21 2026 – The Pak Alliance for Maths and Science (PAMS), successfully hosted a policy dialogue, on building coherent, locally responsive and sustainable professional development systems for teachers in Pakistan.

The half-day roundtable, titled “Comparative Analysis of CPD Models Across Pakistan: Design, Delivery and Perceptions”, brought together federal and provincial education officials, data experts, academia, and development partners to identify where existing CPD systems are working, where gaps exist, and where existing structures can be strengthened.

Over the past decade, many CPD-related initiatives have been undertaken across Pakistan to support teachers and improve classroom practice. However, these initiatives, as well as the mechanisms and structures used to design, deliver and evaluate them, remain largely undocumented. Project documents and information on implementation status are often fragmented or unavailable, making it difficult to develop a consolidated picture of how CPD has evolved across the country.

These findings under the research support programme Data and Research in Education-Research Consortium (DARE-RC) funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), provides a basis for more coherent and sustainable CPD policy across Pakistan.
Highlighting the importance of teacher-centric design during her opening remarks, Zainab Iqbal, Education Adviser at the FCDO, stated:
“Teacher training needs must be the pivotal point of every CPD program design, and that design must be continuously iterative and reiterative. I look forward to using the research findings shared today to drive meaningful policy conversations.”

Emphasizing the financial insights uncovered by the study, Dr. Ehtesham Anwar, Team Lead at DARE-RC, noted:
“This study crucially highlights how major CPD-related budgets—between 80% to 89%—are consumed by employee salaries and administrative overheads, leaving very little for actual CPD content creation and operational delivery. Credit goes to the research team for bringing such critical systemic issues to the forefront.”

The session featured a presentation on research findings by Areej Mahmood, followed by an interactive workshop on “Charting Policy Actions for CPD Systems in Pakistan” led by Zain Murtaza Maken. Together, these sessions emphasized that Pakistan does not lack CPD initiatives; rather, the core challenge lies in ensuring that CPD is coherently designed, adequately financed, and meaningfully connected to teachers’ classroom practice. Adding to these insights, Helen Kamal (Senior Education Adviser, Cambridge Education) delivered a keynote address focusing on system coherence, emphasizing that building coherent CPD systems is essential for empowering teachers and ultimately driving enhanced teaching quality in the classroom. Following the research presentation and workshop, a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Farah Nadeem (Assistant Professor, LUMS School of Education) brought together key provincial and federal experts: Ms. Riffat Jabeen (Director Academics, Educational Technology & Quality Assurance, FDE), Zahida Batool (Former Director of Training & Certification, PECTAA), Dr. Safia Noor, (former Assistant Director, DPD, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mr. Shuhabuddin Malla, (DG, PITE, Sindh), Ms. Fatima Munawar, (Director, PITE, Balochistan). The discussion addressed practical steps needed to strengthen coordination, financing and data use across Pakistan’s CPD systems.

The event concluded with stakeholders reaching consensus on the need for greater coherence across Pakistan’s CPD systems, with participants discussing next steps for strengthening frontline support, data use, financing and links to teacher professionalisation. In his closing remarks, Salman Naveed Khan, CEO of PAMS, reflected on the day’s proceedings, thanking participants for their actionable contributions and emphasizing the collective commitment required to strengthen frontline teacher support, data-informed planning, and sustainable financing across Pakistan’s education system.