UNESCO contributes evidence to improve the availability, comparability and use of data on students with disabilities

In this context, Alejandro Vera, specialist at the UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago, presented the main findings of the report Hacia una educación sin barreras: avances y desafíos en la educación inclusiva que evidencian los resultados del SIRIED 2024, which sets out the results of SIRIED 2024. The report was prepared on the basis of the Regional Educational Information System on Students with Disabilities (SIRIED), a regional tool aimed at improving the availability, comparability and use of data for decision-making. Framed within the monitoring of SDG 4 and Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, SIRIED adopts a rights-based approach and the social model of disability.

During the presentation, it was emphasized that the "statistical invisibility" of persons with disabilities limits both diagnosis and the design of relevant education policies. In response, SIRIED, developed within the framework of the Ibero-American Intergovernmental Network for Cooperation in the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs (RIINEE), seeks to provide evidence to improve the availability, comparability and use of data relating to this segment of the population across the region.

The findings show progress in access, but also significant inequalities in educational pathways. Attendance is low in early childhood education (44.6%), increases in primary education (85.2%) and declines again in secondary education (76.5%), reflecting challenges such as late entry and limited early identification of disability. Although most students with disabilities attend mainstream educational institutions-which reflects progress towards inclusion-the percentage of schools that actually enrol them remains limited, and not all have the conditions required for full inclusion.

The report also warns that students with disabilities face higher levels of grade repetition, over-age enrolment and school dropout than their peers without disabilities. It is estimated that one in seven leaves school each year, a situation that is more pronounced in upper secondary education. The document also provides information on the structural difficulties involved in sustaining complete educational pathways and identifies gender gaps, with more marked disadvantages for girls with disabilities in access, retention and educational progression, underscoring the need for intersectional approaches.

As part of UNESCO's participation in the congress, Jerónima Sandino, coordinator of the RIINEE Network at the UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago, led the workshop "Influencing with evidence: SIRIED, data for inclusive education", focused on the strategic use of this information to influence policies, practices and public decisions. The aim was to strengthen participants' capacities to complement their personal or institutional narratives with evidence, transforming information into persuasive arguments capable of driving concrete change.

Among the conclusions emerging from the working sessions was the recognition that, although all countries in the region have made progress in normative frameworks that recognize the right to inclusive education, significant gaps remain in implementation, particularly in accessible infrastructure, teacher training and educational support. It was also emphasized that tools such as SIRIED are key to making these gaps visible and strengthening evidence-based inclusive education policies.