Brain drain is a context-based issue and has direct impact on the quality of higher education for institutions where a significant number of instructors migrate to take up work in other countries. This is a critical problem in Yemen where higher teacher education programmes still lack teachers. Interpretive analysis of in-depth interviews with two university administrators and ten teacher educators revealed four key factors affecting the occurrence of brain drain: ineffective application of sabbatical leave regulations; failure to equalize returning teachers' salaries with those of their colleagues; lack of resources to support research; and the presence of internal and external conflicts. The study also provides insights for decreasing brain drain in Yemen.