Beyond Free Nutritious Meals: Government Details Rp769 Trillion Education Budget Focus for 2026
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has confirmed that human resource development remains a primary focus of the government, serving as the foundation for the Indonesia Emas 2045 vision. Consequently, the education budget in the 2026 State Budget has been strengthened to Rp769.1 trillion, an increase from the 2025 budget ceiling of Rp724.26 trillion.
Speaking at a public lecture at Diponegoro University, Purbaya detailed that the 2026 education budget will be used to expand access to and improve the quality of education, revitalise schools, support the Free Nutritious Meals programme, and strengthen scholarship financing through the Education Fund Management Institution.
The government is also sharpening the LPDP scholarship policy to better align with national development needs. Whereas previously the scholarships were general in nature, they are now focused on priority fields, particularly STEM and strategic industries such as food, energy, health, defence, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, downstream processing, maritime, advanced manufacturing and materials, and entrepreneurship.
Purbaya stressed that talent is the core of national economic transformation. Therefore, the development of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics must be integrated with social sciences, humanities, arts, religious studies, and economics to boost productivity, competitiveness, and create sustainable economic growth.
The government is targeting Indonesia to become one of the world’s five largest economies by 2045, with a Gross Domestic Product of around US$5 trillion and a per capita income exceeding US$15,000. To achieve this target, economic development must be supported by superior, productive, and adaptive human resources capable of keeping pace with technological advancements. “Indonesia’s economic development requires an industrial ecosystem that places talent at the core of development,” Purbaya asserted.