Living legend award: Nasreen Kasuri awarded for her services to education

Islamabad: Prominent names from all sections of the society joined the event organised to award Founder and Chairperson of Beaconhouse Group Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri with the honorary ‘Living Legend Award’ by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in recognition of her invaluable role in the development of the education sector in Pakistan.

The ceremony was moderated by Abid Qaiyum Suleri, SDPI Executive Director at SDPI, and hosted a panel of distinguished speakers who shared their memories of working with Nasreen Kasuri and praised her unmatched services in education, her foresight and vision, her leadership qualities, and her exceptional performance in nation building.

The speakers included Shahid Hafeez Kardar, former Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and Vice-Chancellor of Beaconhouse National University (BNU); Salima Hashmi, art curator, and former Dean of the National College of Arts; Dr. Feriha Peracha, Director and Supervising Psychologist at Sabaoon Project; Sartaj Aziz, former Federal Minister and former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of Pakistan; Dr. Ishrat Hussain, former Dean and Director Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and Chairman of the National Commission of Government Reforms; Dr. Salman Shah, former Finance Minister of Pakistan and advisor to the Chief Minister of Punjab and Ambassador (r) Shafqat Kakakhel, former UN Assistant Secretary General and Chairperson of SDPI.

SDPI’s Living Legend Award is bestowed upon those visionary individuals, who have achieved excellence in diverse fields, including sustainable development, educational and cultural advancement, and the promotion of democratic governance, justice, and human rights.

Through this award, SDPI has earlier extended its gratitude to Madam Nisar Aziz Butt, Agha Nasir, Munnu Bhai, Mr. Shoaib Sultan Khan, Iftikhar Arif, Sartaj Aziz, and Syed Babar Ali Shah.

Speaking on the occasion, Shafqat Kakakhel lauded the role of the living legend for introducing the quality learning system in Pakistan 46 years ago through the Beaconhouse School System.

He said: “We have gathered here to pay tributes to Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri in recognition of her outstanding and unique contributions to the promotion of high-quality education from primary up to the higher secondary and even university levels in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Kasuri said, “I am truly honoured to receive this acknowledgment from SDPI. It brings me great pride to see what started as a vision to provide quality education to the children of Pakistan over four decades ago is setting new benchmarks today. It has been a lifetime of learning for me and inculcating values of learning onto thousands of whom have passed out from the Beaconhouse system over the years.”

Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri established Les Anges Montessori Academy in Lahore in 1975 and set the foundation for the Beaconhouse network which has now developed into Pakistan’s largest setup of private educational institutions catering to over 315,000 students.