Results of the first application phase

• Download PDF (1,6 Mb)

One of the groups that has been the most vulnerable and most excluded from education is that of those that suffer from disabilities.  In Latin America and the Caribbean it is difficult to access basic, relevant and up-to-date data and indicators regarding this sector’s educational situation which would allow us to develop a comparative analysis and monitor the policies to provide resources. For this reason, the Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago) has worked in collaboration with the countries of the region, along with the technical and financial support of the Government of Spain, to develop a Regional Education Information System for Students with Disabilities (SIRIED).

The objective of the information system is to contribute to the monitoring of the Education for All goals and the Regional Education Project for Latin America and the Caribbean (PRELAC) goals; to provide feedback on the processes of formulating, implementing, monitoring and assessing the policies; and to contribute to a fair and equal distribution of resources in order to guarantee that disabled students have the right to inclusive education.

In this regard, María Rodriguez Moneo, director of the National Centre of Innovation and Educational Research (CNIIE) of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, has prepared the following message:

“SIRIED, developed by the Latin American countries and OREALC/UNESCO Santiago, is an indispensable tool for the design, monitoring and assessment of public policies aimed at the inclusion of disabled students within the education system. At the same time, it represents a valuable contribution to the monitoring of the international commitments assumed by governments regarding the Right to Education, incorporating a perspective that adds comprehensive access to the debate of which elements are fundamental to quality education for all, and it makes it possible for us to examine the situation of disabled students at different levels: local, national and regional.

The countries of Latin America subscribe to the importance of generating mechanisms that make it possible to periodically collect information about the situation of disabled students in the education systems, thus reinforcing the political will to obtain a general overview of the main achievements, gaps and challenges that must be addressed in order to advance towards guaranteeing the right to education for all, especially for those who have been marginalised and face adversity in the pursuit of full social inclusion. This will has been demonstrated in the countries that participated in the first application of SIRIED: Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and the Dominican Republic. I want to recognise them for the work they have done, which hopes to establish the basis for public policies that are more in touch with each country’s needs in terms of this issue. It also allows for a richer exchange of information among the countries of the region, in order to create the possibility for real and fundamental collaboration towards these goals.

The Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport is honoured to have contributed to the construction and application of the SIRIED. This is the product of a collective effort, and it strengthens the commitment to a right to quality education for all, which is essential to achieving a more just and sustainable social development within a human rights framework. This is one of the fundamental tasks of UNESCO and its Member States”.

Results of the first application phase

• Download PDF (1,6 Mb)

Further information:

• Regional Education Information System on Students with Disabilities (SIRIED). Methodological proposal