Jakarta \u2013 The head of Indonesia\u2019s Parliament Budget Committee, Said\nAbdullah, has responded to public concerns regarding education budget\nallocations now being used to fund the government\u2019s free nutritious\nmeals programme (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG), with the 2026 State Budget\nLaw (APBN) being challenged by teacher groups at the Constitutional\nCourt.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis programme naturally attracts public attention given its reach\nextends to tens of millions of beneficiaries,\u201d said Said in a written\nstatement on Friday, 27 February 2026.<\/p>\n
Said initially noted that the programme is legitimate given that the\naverage prevalence of chronic malnutrition amongst Indonesian children\nremains high at approximately 19 percent. This means that out of every\n100 births, 19 percent experience chronic malnutrition. He considers\nthis percentage moderately high, as the World Health Organisation\nstandard for low prevalence is below 10 percent.<\/p>\n
He also cited that nutrition interventions through school feeding\nprogrammes such as MBG have long been implemented by many developed\ncountries, including China and Japan, as well as Scandinavian nations\nsuch as Finland and Norway, and have been adopted by developing\ncountries including India and Brazil.<\/p>\n
Regarding the budgeting process, Said emphasised that the APBN is the\nonly law whose draft is proposed by the government to parliament.\nConsequently, parliament\u2019s position regarding the proposed budget,\nincluding education budget allocations for specific programmes, is\nlimited to adjusting, increasing, or decreasing budget allocations for\nprogrammes and ministries\/institutions jointly agreed upon with the\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to the constitution, parliament has the authority to\nreject the entire proposed APBN budget, and vice versa,\u201d Said\nstated.<\/p>\n
In the budgeting process, Said noted that the education budget\nallocation remains protected in accordance with constitutional mandate,\nnamely 20 percent of state expenditure.<\/p>\n
The education budget allocation in the 2025 APBN was Rp724.2 trillion\nand in 2026 is Rp769 trillion. Across these two budget years, the\neducation budget allocation, which includes MBG expenditure, was Rp71\ntrillion in 2025 and Rp268 trillion in 2026.<\/p>\n
In 2026, the Budget Normalisation Programme (BGN) received budget\nallocation according to the APBN Law of Rp268 trillion, with Rp255.5\ntrillion dedicated to supporting the MBG programme and Rp12.4 trillion\nfor programme management support.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf the BGN programme budget of Rp255.5 trillion, Rp223.5 trillion is\nallocated for education functions,\u201d Said explained, who is also a PDI\nPerjuangan politician.<\/p>\n
As the education budget increases, Said noted, other managing\nministries also experience increases, in addition to BGN. This includes\nthe Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen).<\/p>\n
The increases result from rising state expenditure from 2025 to 2026,\nas state expenditure serves as the basis for calculating the 20 percent\neducation allocation.<\/p>\n
\u201cBudget increases are not only received by Kemendikdasmen, but also\nby the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology\n(Kemendiktisaintek), the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag), the\nMinistry of Social Affairs (Kemensos), and the Ministry of Public Works\n(Kemen PU) in carrying out education functions from the APBN,\u201d Said\nnoted.<\/p>\n
Kemendikdasmen received an increase of Rp21.5 trillion,\nKemendiktisaintek an increase of Rp3.3 trillion, Kemenag an increase of\nRp10.5 trillion, Kemensos an increase of Rp4 trillion, and Kemen PU an\nincrease of Rp1.7 trillion.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, in 2025 and 2026, the MBG budget allocation becomes an\nelement included in the education budget position. This has become a\npolitical decision between parliament and the government,\u201d Said\nstated.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Said acknowledged respect for civil society groups\nchallenging the MBG budget allocation under education spending at the\nConstitutional Court.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, based on constitutional studies and review, parliament and\nthe government have made this decision. We hope this explanation\nclarifies the composition of the MBG budget and education budget\nallocation,\u201d Said concluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/budget-committee-education-budget-for-free-nutritious-meals-programme-is-government-and-parliament-decision-1772175629", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }