More than 70 talukas in the State do not have higher secondary education facilities. While 72 talukas do not have any higher secondary schools in any stream, four talukas, including two in the premier Ahmedabad district, do not have higher secondary science stream schools.

Viramgam and Sanand talukas in Ahmedabad have 13 schools but not a single one offering science stream. Two other talukas including Gogha near Bhavnagar too do not have a single higher secondary school offering science stream. Other talukas in Ahmedabad like Daskroi, Dholka and Dhandhuka have just one such class each of higher secondary science stream.

Gujarat Higher Secondary Education Board (GHSEB) chairperson and Higher Education Commissioner Swatantra Sekhon says 38 new schools will be opened in the State this year, of which at least 50 per cent will be allocated to higher secondary science stream. ``Our aim is to provide every taluka with a school,'' she said.

Outlining the major reasons for lack of schools, the Higher Education Commissioner said students were willing to go to nearby places for further studies. ``There are not enough students for opening a class,'' she said. ``While there are demands for increasing general stream classes, there are no takers for science stream,'' she added. Others dismiss this argument as baseless. According to them, the only higher secondary school offering science in Dholka, Seth Hasanali School, had 70 students in standard 11 this year. ``This implies there are students willing to take up science,'' said a DEO official. The same is the case with D A Vidyamandir school in Dhandhuka which, the official says, has an adequate number of students.

At the district-level, a major reason for few schools in rural areas is the lack of will among NGOs to take the initiative to open schools, says Ahmedabad (rural) District Education Officer A B Patel. ``The institutions are hesitant because they fear financial problems due to fewer students in science stream as compared to the general stream,'' he said.