DPR Commission X Urges MK Ruling on Free Nutritious Meals Budget to Apply from 2027

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) Commission X, MY Esti Wijayati, has requested that the Constitutional Court’s (MK) ruling regarding the budget for the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme, which states it should not use the education budget, be implemented starting in 2027. Although the MK provided an adjustment period until the 2028 State Budget (APBN), she believes the ruling should be executed as soon as possible to improve the quality of education in the country. “Every effort should be made so that it can be implemented starting from the 2027 fiscal year, because there is great hope for the education sector that we can improve and enhance the quality of education through human resource development,” she said in Jakarta on Monday.

According to her, the education budget should be directed towards improving the quality of educators, education personnel, students, and university students. Furthermore, the budget should be used to upgrade educational facilities and infrastructure to make them more adequate, for the welfare of teachers, lecturers, and education personnel, in an equitable and quality manner for all. She assessed that a maximised education budget could also address challenges in the era of globalisation. This is because Indonesia is currently facing major changes such as digital transformation, the development of artificial intelligence, the green economy, shifts in employment structures, and increasing global competition.

In such a situation, she said that education for children is no longer sufficient merely to produce graduates who have completed formal education, but must shape Indonesian people who possess critical thinking skills, digital literacy, creativity, the ability to collaborate, strong character, and readiness for lifelong learning. She assessed that education reform must shift from an administrative orientation towards human resource quality development as the main strategy for national development. This, she said, requires a major commitment from the state to ensure that educational programmes are always prioritised. “Of course, building superior human resources must start from children’s education, because education is the basic capital for national development,” she said.

Previously, the Constitutional Court ordered the government and the DPR to remove the budget for the Free Nutritious Meals programme from the education budget allocation in the State Budget. The order was delivered in the judicial review ruling of Law Number 17 of 2025 concerning the 2026 State Budget, requested under Case Number 40/PUU-XXIV/2026, which was read out in Jakarta on Thursday (30/7). The MK gave the government and the DPR until the 2028 State Budget to remove the MBG budget from the education allocation, considering the specific nature of the annual state budget drafting process.