There are still many physical barriers present in Italian schools: only 40% are accessible for pupils with motor disabilities.
The situation appears better in the North where values higher than the national average are recorded (44% of compliant schools), while it worsens, reaching the lowest levels, in the South (36%).
The most virtuous region is Valle d'Aosta, with 74% of accessible schools, on the other hand Liguria and Campania stand out for the lowest presence of schools without physical barriers (29% and 30% of schools respectively).
This is what emerges from the Istat report on the scholastic inclusion of pupils with disabilities.
The lack of a lift or the presence of a lift unsuitable for the transport of people with disabilities represent the most widespread barriers (50%).
There are also frequent schools without an internal stairlift (35%), compliant bathrooms (26%) or internal ramps to overcome differences in level (24%).
However, cases in which the presence of non-compliant stairs or doors are found are rare (7% and 3% respectively).
The accessibility of spaces must also include sensory-perceptive aids intended for the orientation of pupils with sensory disabilities: only 17% of schools have visual drawings for students with deafness or hearing loss while relief maps and tactile paths, necessary to make the spaces accessible to pupils with blindness or low vision are present in only 1.2% of schools.
The situation concerns the entire national territory, with few differences between the North and the South. Although there is still a serious delay in accessibility levels, only 11% of schools carried out demolition work during the school year. of architectural barriers.
An important contribution to the removal of these barriers can take place with the implementation of the projects financed by Pnrr funds starting from 2024.
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