Trends in Higher Education (Eritrea)

Up to 2003/04, Eritrea had only one higher education institution (HEI), the University of Asmara (UoA) -- a renowned university established in 1958. By the academic year 2002/2003, the UoA had 5934 students, 254 academic staff, and 39 departments offering various undergraduate programs (Leonida, 2004). Moreover, in 2004, the UoA established the School of Graduate Studies and started graduate programs in six fields of study (Rena, 2008). It is also worth noting that the UoA had started evening classes for students who could not attend their university studies during the daytime due to work, family, and other responsibilities. However, from 2004 to 2005, the Government of Eritrea (GoE) restructured the only university in the country into seven new HEIs (Tsegay, 2021). Six of the University of Asmara colleges became autonomous HEIs in different parts of the country and three colleges were merged to form one HEI, the Eritrea Institute of Technology (EIT)…