Cabinet Secretary (Seskab) Teddy Indra Wijaya addressed the\ncontroversy surrounding the allocation of Free Nutritious Meals (MBG)\nfunds from the national education budget, which has recently drawn\nscrutiny from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Teddy\nstated that the decision on education budget allocation in the state\nbudget (APBN) has been approved by the government together with the\nDPR.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the education budget is 20 percent of the APBN. This year it is\nRp769.1 trillion, which represents 20 percent. And that is the education\nbudget. What is included in the education budget? Much. Its\nallocations,\u201d said Teddy at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta\non Friday, 27 February 2026.<\/p>\n
Teddy noted that the APBN Law has passed through agreement between\nthe government and the DPR, including the decision-making stage at the\nDPR Budget Committee (Banggar). He then referenced the fact that the\nChair of the DPR Budget Committee also comes from the PDI-P faction,\nSaid Abdullah.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd its allocations have already been agreed upon last year by the\ngovernment, the DPR, and the DPR Budget Committee. The Budget Committee\nChair is also from PDI-P,\u201d said Teddy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd all of this, including the MBG, is the initial foundation for\nimproving education going forward,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Teddy also emphasised that the MBG programme will not reduce\neducation programmes. He rejected the notion that there is a narrative\nthat the government is neglecting education quality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to correct misunderstanding and incorrect narrative.\nAbout what? Well, recently some parties have stated that the Free\nNutritious Meals programme reduces education programmes and budget. So\nthat schools are neglected and teachers are not given attention. So I\nwant to respond that this is an incorrect narrative,\u201d said Teddy.<\/p>\n
Previously, the MBG budget allocation from the education budget was\nflagged by PDI-P. The party stated that a budget of Rp223.5 trillion for\nthe programme was taken from the total national education budget.<\/p>\n
This clarification came following statements from several state\nofficials claiming that the MBG budget was the result of efficiency\nsavings and did not reduce the education budget allocation. This sparked\nquestions from PDI-P branch officials and the general public regarding\nthe actual facts.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur colleagues below understand that the education budget of Rp769\ntrillion is mandatory spending of 20 percent from the national and\nregional budgets (APBN and APBD) that must be allocated purely for\neducation,\u201d said Deputy Chair of Commission X DPR RI from the PDI-P\nfaction, MY Esti Wijayati, at a press conference at the PDI-P Central\nLeadership School, Lenteng Agung, Jakarta, on Wednesday, 25\nFebruary.<\/p>\n
However, based on official state documents, the funds for the MBG\nprogramme do indeed reduce the education budget allocation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the APBN appendix in the form of presidential regulation, it is\nexplicitly stated that from the Rp769 trillion education budget, Rp223.5\ntrillion is used for the MBG programme. That is official in the APBN\nappendix document,\u201d she stated.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cabinet-secretary-free-nutritious-meals-allocation-in-education-budget-approved-by-dpr-budget-committee-1772190295", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }