Pashtany Bank Provides One Million Afghanis for Scholarships

President of Pashtany Bank, Mr. Hayat Dayani, recently signed a check for one million Afghanis, to be used by AUAF on scholarships for deserving and qualified students.

In an interview on June 16 2008 with the University he said, "The one million grant is a sign of our interest and support for AUAF."

Dr. Sharif Fayez, Founding President of AUAF thanks the Bank, saying, "This grant can be a great help to our students and we value the intention and vision behind it."

Mr. Dayani, who heads one of the largest banks in Afghanistan, strongly favors the idea of serving the country by promoting quality education, a perspective informed by his own education and travel abroad. "It is crucial to the survival of our country that wise people run the future administrations."

Convinced that the country’s economic prospects are currently being revived and will continue to grow, Mr. Dayani expects a great deal from his young countrymen and women at AUAF.

"Afghanistan looks at you. We look at you. Work hard and take seriously the opportunities provided to you."

His vision for the country is buoyed by the positive developments he sees around him, including within the bank he governs.

"I was asked to take this responsibility in the beginning of 2006." According to reports produced by Pashtany Bank, Mr. Dayani has driven the organization to reach the highest income in its history. "We reached eight million dollars (USD) in gross income, from which more than five million is net income."

Prior to Mr. Dayani’s arrival, by contrast, Pashtany Bank boasted only $140,000 in net income.

"I introduced important reforms." One of which is the salaries. "I raised the salaries eight times [to approximately $400] so that my team would not worry about food and medicine and be able to focus on their tasks at Pashtany."

Some of the other reforms are converting the banking system from a communist structure to the international banking method which brings about more efficiency and customer friendliness.

The recent growth of Pashtany Bank mirrors that of AUAF. Rebecca Carter, Director of Admissions and Registration at AUAF says, "We doubled our enrollment in January 2007 in the Undergraduate and Foundation Studies Programs by admitting 170 new students."

The creative and critical thinking abilities emphasized at AUAF, in addition to high-level English language skills developed over a course of study, can help to further fuel the economy by providing a educated and innovative workforce to fuel organizations such as Pashtany Bank.

"Pashtany Bank’s policy to invest in AUAF students annually indicates the great vision they have," said Dr. Fayez. "It is paying on producing skilled human resources for Afghanistan, which I think is extremely important for our future."

Dr. Fayez continues to explain how the grant will be spent, "The money will be used for awarding scholarships to academically strong and financially needy students of AUAF." He adds, "There will be a committee formed to evaluate the eligible students."

Mr. Dayani also notifies at the end of the interview, "I will keep myself in the picture and look forward to another opportunity to help this institution."