Why Great Teachers, Not Bigger Spending, Will Decide Pakistan’s Education Future

By Naeem Ahmad

At a time when Pakistan’s public education system is under intense scrutiny, two Pakistani schools have been shortlisted among the Top 10 finalists for the World’s Best School Prizes 2026. Their recognition sends a powerful message: educational excellence is not determined by grand buildings, expensive infrastructure, or even larger budgets. Instead, it is driven by visionary teachers, innovative leadership, and a learning environment designed around students rather than systems.
Their achievement is significant not only because it places Pakistan among the world’s leading education systems but also because it challenges a long-standing assumption that quality education depends primarily on budgets, infrastructure, or textbooks. Instead, both schools demonstrate that the single most important factor behind educational success is the quality, commitment, and vision of teachers.
This lesson could not have come at a more relevant time. Punjab is currently witnessing an intense debate over the future of public education. The provincial government is moving ahead with plans to outsource low-enrollment and underperforming government schools to the private sector. Much of this debate revolves around education budgets and school management models. Yet the more important question should be: Who is actually delivering quality education, and how?
The World’s Best School Prizes 2026 finalist, Government Girls Lower Secondary School Tando Mir Ghulam Hussain, Hyderabad provides a compelling answer. Located in one of Sindh’s most disadvantaged areas, the school transformed its entire approach to teaching. Many girls in the community were engaged in child labour or household work, making regular schooling impossible. Rather than blaming poverty or poor attendance, teachers redesigned the system itself. They introduced flexible double shifts, activity-based learning, regular home visits, and continuous counselling of parents. The results were remarkable. Student enrolment increased by nearly 90 per cent, attendance rose by 80 per cent, and more than 80 per cent of parents began prioritising their daughters’ education over child labour.
The second finalist, TNS Beaconhouse in Lahore, achieved excellence through a completely different but equally student-centred model. Instead of following a one-size-fits-all approach, the school designed an inclusive learning environment for children with diverse educational needs. Teaching methods were adapted to each student’s psychological development, learning style, and cognitive abilities. The outcome was improved attendance, fewer behavioural problems, greater confidence, stronger academic performance, and higher rates of admission to quality universities.
Although the two schools operate in entirely different settings, they share one common characteristic: they changed the education system to suit children instead of forcing children to fit the system. That principle is largely absent from Pakistan’s broader education debate.
Educational discussions in Pakistan continue to focus on curricula, examinations, school buildings, and budget allocations. Internationally, however, modern education reforms increasingly recognise teachers not merely as lecturers but as mentors, researchers, counsellors, innovators, and problem-solvers. Effective teachers understand each child’s social background, economic circumstances, emotional wellbeing, and learning capacity before choosing how to teach.
Recent findings by the World Bank reinforce this argument. According to its latest report (Strengthening Fiscal Federalism in Pakistan), Pakistan faces severe human development challenges. Public spending on education averaged only 1.8 per cent of GDP between FY2010 and FY2025—far below the 4.2 per cent average for lower-middle-income countries. More than 25 million school-age children remain out of school, while nearly 78 per cent of ten-year-olds cannot read and understand an age-appropriate text. Poverty has also increased, with 28.9 per cent of Pakistanis living below the basic-needs poverty line in FY2024-25, compared with 21.9 per cent in FY2018-19.
However, the report highlights an even more important finding: higher spending alone does not automatically produce better educational outcomes. Between FY2009 and FY2023, real per-capita education spending increased dramatically in Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan. Yet school enrolment actually declined in Sindh and Balochistan, while adult literacy also fell in Sindh.
The World Bank further notes that many districts in Punjab consistently deliver stronger educational outcomes despite relatively lower per-capita spending than districts in Sindh and Balochistan. The findings suggest that how money is managed matters far more than how much money is spent.
This distinction is often overlooked in Pakistan’s policy discussions. If thousands of capable, motivated, and innovative teachers already exist within the government education system as the Hyderabad school clearly demonstrates then the priority should be identifying, supporting, and replicating such success stories. Outstanding teachers require continuous professional development, greater autonomy, modern pedagogical training, and meaningful recognition.
At the same time, schools that consistently underperform should certainly be held accountable. But their shortcomings should be evaluated through evidence rather than assumptions. Judging an entire public education system by its weakest institutions does a disservice both to committed teachers and to millions of children who depend upon government schools.
Countries such as Finland, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea consistently demonstrate that successful education systems are built around teacher quality rather than infrastructure alone. Their investments focus on teacher recruitment, professional development, classroom autonomy, and rigorous accountability.
Pakistan’s two World Best School finalists point in exactly the same direction. Their success reminds policymakers that educational transformation begins not with buildings, technology, or administrative restructuring, but with teachers who possess the vision, commitment, and professional freedom to transform children’s lives.
As Pakistan seeks to reform its education system amid limited fiscal space and growing social challenges, the lesson from these two globally recognised schools is unmistakable. The country’s education crisis cannot be solved simply by increasing budgets, outsourcing schools, or constructing better buildings. Sustainable improvement depends on investing in the people who stand at the heart of every classroom.
If policymakers genuinely want to improve learning outcomes, they must make teacher quality through better training, continuous professional development, merit-based accountability, and institutional support the centrepiece of education reform. Buildings may house schools, but it is inspired teachers who shape futures. The global recognition of these two Pakistani schools proves that when teachers are empowered to innovate and lead, even the most challenging environments can produce world-class education.