This paper summarizes a presentation and discussion hosted by the Minister of Higher Education in Kabul, Afghanistan to discuss alternative ways of thinking about teacher education. The presentation poses the question of the goals and the realities of an effective teacher education system in a low-resource context. The paper argues for the redefinition of the problem from being one of producing trained teachers to one of producing good quality, sustainable teaching/learning for the majority of pupils at a feasible cost and within a reasonable timeline. The discussion examines traditional assumptions and their unreality in such a context and then proposes as series of alternative principles and a model for applying them in Afghanistan. The key change is to focus on the provision of teaching services rather than on primarily on the training of teachers.