The STEM Readiness Paradigm: Mapping Teacher Competencies and Innovation Pathways in Punjab’s Public Schools

STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is a building block of world economic and educational advancement, which endows learners with analytical, problem-solving, and technological abilities essential for the 21st century. The public education system of Pakistan has too many hurdles to adopt quality STEM education through institutional mechanisms such as inadequate training for teachers, paucity of institutional backing, and poor access to advanced instructional tools. This research investigates the readiness of public school teachers in Lahore, Punjab, to teach STEM, using the creation of a STEM Teaching Readiness Matrix (STRM). A mixed-methods approach was used, combining 200 survey responses and qualitative interviews with 20 purposively selected teachers. The results show that the subject knowledge of teachers varies while their pedagogical confidence is low, especially when implementing interdisciplinary STEM ideas. Institutional support came out as the best predictor of effective STEM instruction, reflecting on the decisive significance of infrastructure, professional training, and administrative support. The study emphasizes the necessity for urgent policy interventions, the development of upgraded training programs, and resource deployment to facilitate bridging the divide between theoretical STEM instruction and experimental, practical training opportunities.