Mumbai has not only been the financial capital of India since the early 19th century, the capital city of Maharashtra has also been home to prominent education institutes since pre independence. There were as many schools in Bombay before independence as the number of villages. Printed books were available in the city since the year 1579 when students from every section of society could attend school. However, the literacy rate of Mumbai was as low as 11 % at the end of 1947.
Mumbai is called the ‘Research Hub of India’ also. Renowned institutes like the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) are located in the city. The colleges of Mumbai feature at the top of the rankings list brought out by media houses and education bodies every academic year.
Many notable personalities have completed their education in Mumbai, including political leader Dr B R Ambedkar, educator Dadabhai Naoroji, physicist Homi J Bhabha, nationalist Lokmanya Tilak, musician Zakir Hussain and many more.
Mumbai City is one of the most famous and populous cities offering students great opportunities to study and explore themselves. The city is well equipped with great colleges and schools functioning according to the changes occur in education system. State Government has made plenty of changes to modify Mumbai Education System and it has achieved qualitative excellence and enrollment of students from the city and out of the city is even more now. Large number of students outside the city comes to Mumbai for their studies as Mumbai has excellent educational infrastructure and the best facilities are given to migrants.
Mumbai is well known as education hub of India. Students from all over India and all over world come to Mumbai for their education. Due to its wide range of educational institutions it has been called the “Oxford of the East”. Right from the primary education right till Masters/Phd, every course is available in Mumbai. Mumbai has a setup of well known good educational institutions which is preferred by students.
The main standards governing schools are as follows:
- State Government Boards where key examinations are et according to state government standards
- The CBSE or Central Board of Secondary Education where the standard is set from the Central government for schools in various states
- The Council for the Indian School Certification Exam or CISCE Board
- National Open School
- International Schools
From undergraduate to postgraduate colleges; from research institutes to interdisciplinary centers; from language training to vocational courses – there is no dearth of educational options in the city. Mumbai is home to some of the leading institutions in the country that offer a whole gamut of academic options between them. Whether you want to pursue engineering or film and television studies, whether its astrophysics you want to learn or Japanese – Mumbai’s topnotch educational institutions will not disappoint.
Well known educational institutions are –
- Dhirubhai Ambani International School
- Bombay Scottish School
- RN Podar School
- Xavier’s College
- J. Somaiya College
- Mithibai College
- Sir JJ College
- SNDT University
- Wilson College
Several education reforms took place in the year 2011 in Mumbai. The school fees were also regulated under the Maharashtra Educational institutions (Regulation of Collection of Fee) Act. This means that a greater number of children can now receive education from schools in Mumbai. Mumbai is a major center of learning and education. The University of Mumbai was founded in 1857 as an affiliating and examining body patterned after the University of London. Although it still has numerous constituent colleges, the institution has also taken on teaching functions.
Mumbai municipality runs more than 1,000 primary and secondary schools for the city’s children. Instruction is provided in the student’s mother tongue (mainly Marathi, Hindi, Urdu, and English) though Marathi is a compulsory subject in all municipal schools. Education is free up to certain grades although parents pay for text books and school uniforms. Literacy rates in Mumbai are high (c. 82 percent in 1998) although school drop-out rates are also high.
Mumbai’s Educational Sector is created through the wide range of networks of primary, secondary and higher secondary schools. High quality of education in Mumbai has made it the most preferred educational hub among aspirants. The city is well equipped with 12 universities and hundreds of schools and colleges. Emphasis was given to school education this year and the syllabus were revamped in order to introduce more contemporary subjects of study that would help at the higher education level.