Family Planning Focus No Longer Limits Number of Children
The Ministry of Population and Family Development (Kemendukbangga)/National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) states that the Family Planning (KB) programme is now undergoing a transformation in meaning to become planned communities.
The Main Secretary of Kemendukbangga/BKKBN, Budi Setiyono, explained that the KB concept is no longer focused on limiting the number of children, but rather on community-based planning.
“In the past, Family Planning (k small b small), but now KB (K big B big) means planned communities. So we are not talking about a precise number of children, such as a certain amount, but balancing between supply and demand,” he said after the National Population Symposium for 2026 at Udayana University (Unud), Jimbaran, Badung, on Thursday (23/4/2026).
According to him, this balance is important to avoid either an excess or shortage of population that impacts the economy and quality of life.
“Do not let there be an over-supply of too many people while resources are still insufficient to cover a decent life, or a shortage of population that slows down the economy,” he said.
To address these challenges, Kemendukbangga is partnering with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemendiktisaintek) to improve the quality of university graduates to be more relevant to development needs.
This collaboration is realised through the formation of the Higher Education Cares for Population (PTPK) team, which was inaugurated by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Badri Munir Sukoco, at the National Population Symposium for 2026 at Udayana University.
Badri welcomed the collaboration. He assessed this step as strategic to align higher education with industry needs, where there is currently an imbalance between study programmes and field requirements.
“Currently, there is still an oversupply in some study programmes, while needed programmes are not yet available. We will accelerate this based on recommendations from Kemendukbangga and the Higher Education Cares for Population (PTPK) team,” Badri stated.
A total of 14 public and private universities are involved as consortium managers, with a total membership of around 200 institutions.
“In this symposium, the consortium discussed current issues related to population, reproductive health, and family development,” he said.
He added that universities in each region will also serve as companions in preparing and evaluating the Population Development Roadmap (PJPK) in the areas.