Cabinet Secretary Teddy Corrects Misinformation: Free Nutritious Meals Programme Does Not Cut Education Budget
Cabinet Secretary (Seskab) Teddy Indra Wijaya has issued a firm clarification regarding claims that the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme has sacrificed the national education sector.
Teddy rejected narratives claiming that education budgets have been reduced to fund the flagship programme.
“I want to correct the misunderstanding and misleading narrative. Some parties have stated that the free nutritious meals programme reduces education programmes and budgets, leaving schools neglected and teachers overlooked. I want to respond: that is an incorrect narrative,” Teddy stated firmly at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Friday (27 February).
Teddy explained that the MBG programme is instead designed to strengthen human resource quality from an early age, ranging from early childhood education (PAUD) through senior secondary school (SMA).
He affirmed that MBG funding of Rp223.5 trillion in the 2026 state budget has undergone constitutional discussion mechanisms at the Parliamentary Budget Commission.
“The question then is: does this nutritious meals programme reduce education programmes? My answer is no,” he asserted.
According to Teddy, President Prabowo Subianto’s administration continues all strategic programmes from the previous period without reduction. Rather, the government has added new initiatives to expand educational access.
“The fact is, there are no strategic education programmes from the previous period that are not running now. No programmes from the previous period have been halted. Everything continues, and even more have been added,” he stated.
He cited the continuation of the Smart Indonesia Card (KIP) and Smart Indonesia Programme (PIP). Additionally, the government has launched the People’s Schools (Sekolah Rakyat) programme specifically targeting children who have dropped out or not yet accessed formal education.
Addressing the issue of damaged school facilities, Teddy explained that whilst school infrastructure maintenance is the responsibility of regional governments, the central government continues to accelerate repairs.
“In fact, in 2025 alone, approximately 16,000 schools have been renovated. The data exists, photographs exist, and it can be verified. With a total budget of approximately Rp17 trillion,” he noted.
Teacher welfare has also been a primary focus. Teddy outlined increases in incentives and changes to the subsidy distribution system to ensure timeliness. Regional temporary teacher incentives have risen from Rp200,000 to Rp400,000, whilst non-civil servant teacher allowances have increased from Rp1.5 million to Rp2 million.
“And now these allowances are paid directly to teachers every month, rather than through transfers to regions,” Teddy clarified.
In conclusion, Teddy reaffirmed that all education budget allocations continue to comply with the mandatory spending requirement of 20 per cent of the state budget. Therefore, implementation of the MBG programme is assured not to disrupt the financial stability of the national education sector.