Gender and urban–rural disparity in universalisation of basic education: the case of Bahir Dar city lower secondary schools

Universalisation of Basic Education (UBE) is being globally considered a precept that values equity, equality, and inclusion among all students, focusing on eliminating exclusion based on geography, ability, ethnicity, religion, race, gender, social class, property, political opinion, indigenous people, and migrants. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the practices and dares of gender and rural-urban disparity in the universalisation of basic secondary education (9th-10th) in the Bahir Dar city administration, Amhara Region. Unstructured interviews and document analysis were used to gather data. Findings revealed that the practice of gross enrollment rate (GER) was found to be moderate (83.3%), whereas the practice of net enrollment rate (NER) was found to be poor (37.6%); the gender parity index (GPI) of the city administration was 0.75 and 0.83 in GER and NER, respectively. There was a rural-urban disparity in the universalisation of basic secondary schooling. The biggest challenges were students' workload at home, lack of motivation and interest in engaging in other income-generating activities, and governments' indisposition to employ school mapping. Prioritising equitable and fair access to quality education and emphasising school mapping while building schools are a key to promoting social justice (distributive and recognitional justice).