Lina Ashar


Lina Ashar is an Indian educationist, entrepreneur, and writer based in Mumbai. She is the chairperson of Kangaroo Kids Education Limited, an education chain that runs the schools. She is also the founder of Kangaroo Kids International Preschool and Billabong High International School. Lina has received numerous awards for her work. The most notable award she has received is the Lifetime Award for Achievement in Education by Education World in 2014.

Early life and background

Lina is an Australian citizen who grew up in England and presently lives in Mumbai. She finished her primary schooling in England and traveled to Australia to complete her secondary and tertiary schooling in Melbourne. She completed her Bachelor's degree in Education from Melbourne's Victoria College, Melbourne.

Career

Lina began her career as a secondary school teacher in Melbourne, Australia. In 1990, she took a year-long sabbatical and came to India, while being in touch with her roots, she ended up taking up a school job in suburban Mumbai. She was surprised to see the education system is in India, so she started the first Kangaroo Kids Preschool in Bandra in a 650 square feet with a small batch of 25 students and today Kangaroo Kids is a chain of 70 preschools across India as well as in Dubai, Qatar, and the Maldives. Later she also founded Billabong High International School in 2004, which presently has 23 branches at 16 locations across India.

Awards and recognition

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