University education is of 4 years except for Engineering and Medicine which requires 5 to 6 years respectively. There are 7 public universities in Sana'a, Aden, Hodeida, Taiz, Ibb, Dhamar, and Hadramaut (Mukallah) and 5 private universities and religious universities. Also, there are two community colleges in Sana'a and Aden. The enrollment in public universities is about 174,000 in 2005/06 and about 12,000 are enrolled in private universities (2005/06).
Thanawiya examinations' results are very important for getting into university and the required score varies depending on each faculty. The percentage who pursues university education is less than 10 percent.
In 2001, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research was established to meet the demand for social development. Every year, about 300-400 students who seek high quality of education go abroad for education. USA, U.K. and other European countries and India are popular countries for higher education.The National Strategy of Higher Education in 2006 also aims to provide multiple paths in the field of education.
The higher education in Yemen still has a long way to go, despite high investment in this level the staff-student ratios are not favorable, equipment and learning resources are very poor; high absenteeism among professors; no systematic process to review and update the curricula; shortage of laboratories and computers for engineering students. Also there is a need of a decentralized system for the utilization of funds.