ICW Findings: Teachers Report Numerous Issues Due to Free Nutritious Meals Programme

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has released a report on the impact of the free nutritious meals (MBG) programme on teachers’ welfare. Data compiled by ICW shows that 82% of teachers believe the MBG programme affects their welfare and careers.

ICW Findings: Majority of Teachers View MBG as Disrupting Their Welfare

ICW researcher Yassar Aulia explained that the data was obtained from a complaints channel opened by the organisation in collaboration with the Coalition to Save Indonesian Education, starting from 9 March 2026. As of 16 April 2026, 197 teachers with various employment statuses had submitted reports through that channel.

“So, from the stories of the teachers who reported, overall 87% feel that the MBG programme affects their welfare and creates career uncertainty,” said Yassar during a press conference at the ICW Resonansi Office in Jakarta on Friday, 17 April 2026.

Yassar elaborated that the complainants are educators from various levels of education and come from diverse regions, ranging from West Java, Banten, Aceh, Bali, to Riau. The reporting channel provided is online-based, with a form or essay format.

From a total of 179 complaints, various issues experienced by teachers due to the MBG programme were found, including matters related to their welfare. ICW then compiled those stories based on the types of cases faced by the teachers.

Yassar outlined that the most frequently complained about impact is career uncertainty. Several contract teachers under the Government Employee with Work Agreement (PPPK) feel worried that their contracts will not be renewed. Stories of this kind emerged 45 times.

Next, he said, 53 teachers feel their welfare has declined since the efficiency measures due to the MBG programme. The salaries of dozens of these teachers are only around Rp350,000, with payments often delayed. Then, 18 teachers who already have PPPK status reported that their allowances were cut from Rp2.5 million to Rp350,000.

“Other issues include cuts in education budget loans, resulting in reductions, while workloads increase,” said Yassar.

In addition to affecting teachers’ welfare, ICW also found a series of other impacts from the MBG programme. These include disrupted lesson hours, students becoming unfocused, problems with food quality or food waste, disruptions to classroom order and cleanliness, and the assessment that MBG does not bring positive effects to the beneficiaries.

“A total of 88% of the complainants agree that MBG brings no impact at all,” said Yassar.