Wife of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri is probably even more successful than her husband – predominantly known for her own endeavors. Chairperson of Beaconhouse Group, Pakistan’s largest private school network, Kasuri is a well-known name in the private education sector of the country – it is safe to say she pioneered the business of education in Pakistan.
It was 1975 when Nasreen Mehmud Kasuri’s sons had to enroll in a school. Looking around in Lahore, the mother – who was herself a graduate of Kinnaird College – found out that there were very limited options for her children’s good schooling.
The mother took up the mission to give quality education to not only her children but also others. She then set up Les Anges Montessori which was in fact the founding stone of Pakistan’s private education sector.
With a presence in 21 cities in Pakistan and 9 countries globally, Beaconhouse School System (BSS) is spread as far as the U.K., Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, the UAE, and Oman. The management has adopted various international schools in the country and now runs them under BSS.
Under the administration of Beaconhouse Group, Kasuri set up The Educators in 2002. With a total of 800 branches, the extended chain of schools is a variant for the middle-income group in Pakistan. Currently, as many as 247,000 students are provided with quality education in the flagship Beachouse School and The Educators combined.
In 2003, Kasuri established Beaconhouse National University in Lahore – the first Liberal Arts University of Pakistan offering undergraduate and graduate programs in various fields Visual Arts, Architecture, Psychology, Journalism, and Media Studies to name a few.
Kasuri did her Bachelors in Applied Psychology and History from Kinnaird College, Lahore. She then went to Punjab University to complete her postgraduate in Child Psychology. Later on, she did her MBA and received a joint degree from the New York University (USA), London School of Economics (UK), and Hautes Etudes Commerciales: HEC (France).
Currently, she serves as the head of BSS where approximately 13,000 staff members – out of which 7,400 are teachers – are affiliated. Being a vocal advocate for women’s empowerment, Kasuri has ensured female representation in her staff where almost 62 percent of the staff is female with major representation in the upper management.
For her services to the international Pakistani community, Kasuri was awarded the ‘Woman Power 100 award’ in London (2012). Pakistan Power 100 is an event that recognizes and honors the contributions of influential Pakistanis within the international Pakistani community. She has also been awarded ‘Sitara e Eisaar’ by the Government of Pakistan in 2006 for her philanthropic work.
