Schools in Mumbai are either run by the BMC, in which case they are called public schools, or privately by trusts and individuals. Private schools have become a preferred option to a majority of city residents owing to better facilities and use of English as a medium of instruction.
All private schools are affiliated either to the Maharashtra state SSC board or the all-India Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and CBSE boards. Demand is especially high for ICSE, CBSE affiliated schools and those run by convents or by the Jesuits. The government-run public schools lack many facilities, but are the only options for most of the poor who cannot afford the fees in private schools.
After ten years of schooling, students enroll for two years in a Junior College where they choose from one of the four popular streams: Arts, Commerce, Science and Law. This is followed by a professional degree course in the corresponding stream.
All professional colleges in Mumbai are affiliated to the University of Mumbai, one of the largest universities in the world in terms of matriculation. The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, one of world's premier engineering universities, and the SNDT Women's University, open to women only, are the other universities in Mumbai.