40. The Committee observes with concern:

(a) The prevalence of the special education model, and the lack of measures to provide for inclusive and mainstreamed education for persons with disabilities;

(b) The low number of children with disabilities enrolled in elementary schools (only 110,169 pupils with disabilities were enrolled in government elementary schools, according to data relating to the period from 2013 to 2014 from the Department of Education, out of some 5.49 million children with “special needs”, who comprised 13 per cent of the total population of children);

(c) The education of children, young persons and adults with disabilities in regular educational facilities is hindered by the barriers to accessibility, and the lack of universal design for learning and of reasonable accommodations in all academic and social aspects of student life;

(d) That the Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001 only covers official elementary schools;

(e) The general lack of quantitative data on access to education and the outcomes of education for persons with disabilities, and the inconsistency of data collected by different entities.

41. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Enact legislation recognizing inclusive education in line with the Committee’s general comment No. 4 (2016) on the right to inclusive education, and adopt a time frame to implement inclusion;

(b) Improve the implementation of the principle of universal design, including accessibility and reasonable accommodation for learning;

(c) Recognize and provide reasonable accommodation in all academic and social aspects of student life, and ensure teacher training to support students with disabilities in regular classrooms;

(d) Enact specific legislation to support the implementation of reasonable accommodation, individualized learning and inclusive classrooms across the State party;

(e) Take legislative and administrative measures to ensure the availability of accessible learning materials at the technical and higher education levels for persons with disabilities;

(f) Adhere to targets 4.5 and 4 (a) of the Sustainable Development Goals to ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training, and build and upgrade education facilities that are disability-sensitive and safe.