Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology: Universities May Establish MBG Kitchens for Student Practical Training

The Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Brian Yuliarto, stated that universities are permitted to establish Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG), also known as MBG kitchens, to serve as teaching factories or facilities for direct student practical training.

Brian noted that the existence of these SPPGs is integrated with the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) Programme, where campuses are expected to play a strategic role through research and community service. “There are several campuses creating SPPGs in the context of teaching factories for student practice, which can also be researched; we permit those universities to do so,” Brian said during a meeting with Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Wednesday, 3 June 2026.

He emphasised that the involvement of universities in the MBG Programme is consistent with the support provided by the academic community to other strategic government projects. He assessed that university participation in the national nutrition ecosystem is equivalent to the support provided by higher education research for programmes such as electric vehicles, semiconductors, and the giant sea wall.

Although universities are permitted to establish SPPGs, Brian clarified that this is not an administrative compulsion or obligation imposed on university rectorates. “We have never issued a policy circular stating that every campus must establish an SPPG; that has never existed. However, what we are encouraging is the educational involvement of campuses in all national programmes,” he stated.

Brian also expressed his desire for universities to focus on long-term research that can oversee the success of the MBG Programme from a public health perspective. “What we are encouraging is how to conduct research to, for example, monitor stunting rates. I have seen papers from India where the MBG Programme successfully improved nutrition and reduced stunting. This requires long-term monitoring, which might not be the primary focus of the SPPG operators themselves,” Brian added.