The start of the academic year for the year 2025/2026 began in early September with 78,730 places available to welcome newly admitted students and those already registered. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has announced a gradual increase in capacity in certain sectors, notably medical and paramedical. This year, a new specialty in geriatric medicine has been introduced, in coordination with the Ministry of Health.
University capacity and infrastructure
The Tunisian university system has 13 public universities and a network of higher technology institutes offering more than 3,700 training courses covering all disciplines.
There are 174 university residences, including 94 public and 80 private, providing a total of 65,365 beds, which covers approximately 82% of student housing requests.
Services and support for students
The ministry allocated 485 million dinars to university services, or around 21% of the general budget, mainly intended for scholarships and financial aid, housing and catering, cultural and sports activities, with psychological and social support of students.
This year, 107,000 students will benefit from scholarships for a total of 163 million dinars, against 102,400 students and 150 million the previous year.
University restaurants (81 establishments) provide 70,500 meals a day, with a student price maintained at 200 millimes, despite a slight increase in cost per meal.
Cultural and sports centers (17 in total) are available for extracurricular activities of students across the country.
Academic development and innovation
The ministry has strengthened capacity in certain strategic sectors, in particular in the medical and paramedical sectors. A new specialty of geriatric medicine has been introduced in order to meet the needs linked to the aging of the population.
