Palace Responds as Constitutional Court Rules Free Nutritious Meal Budget Must Be Separated from Education Funds in State Budget
State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi has spoken out regarding the Constitutional Court’s latest ruling on the MBG programme. The court decided that the budget for the government’s flagship programme must be separated from the education budget allocation in the state budget (APBN).
Prasetyo acknowledged he had heard about the ruling, although he had not yet seen an official copy of the decision.
“We have also received information that the Constitutional Court has taken a decision, but because we are currently out of town, we have not officially received a copy of the ruling,” said Prasetyo Hadi in Batang Regency, Central Java, on Thursday (30/7/2026).
However, he stressed that the Palace will respect whatever decision the Constitutional Court makes. He also asked for time to study the ruling, as budget matters require deliberation with parliament.
“And of course, whatever the Constitutional Court’s decision, we will respect it. We will study it, because when it comes to budget matters, we do not stand alone — the budget is drafted together with our colleagues in the House of Representatives. So we ask for time,” said Prasetyo.
Constitutional Court ruling
The Constitutional Court decided to partially grant the petition filed by the Taman Belajar (TB) Nusantara Foundation concerning the use of the education budget in the 2026 fiscal year State Budget Law for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme implemented by the administration of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka. The ruling was read out at a hearing held at the Constitutional Court building in Central Jakarta on Thursday (30/7/2026) afternoon.
“The ruling: one, to grant the petitioners’ request in part,” said Chief Justice Suhartoyo, reading out the verdict on the petition.
The Court declared that education funds in the state budget may no longer be used to implement the MBG programme. Suhartoyo said the MBG programme cannot be categorised as a core component of education and must therefore be separated, and may no longer form part of the operational budget for administering education.
The Court also mandated that the separation of the MBG programme budget from education funds must be carried out starting from the 2027 fiscal year State Budget Law, or at the latest in the 2028 fiscal year State Budget Law.
“For the State Budget in subsequent years, the MBG programme budget, which is not a core component of education, shall be separated, or shall not form part of the operational budget for administering education, and such separation shall apply no later than in the 2028 fiscal year State Budget,” he said.
Previously, the Taman Belajar (TB) Nusantara Foundation filed a judicial review of Article 22 paragraph (3) of Law Number 17 of 2025 on the 2026 fiscal year State Budget. In its petition, the foundation argued that funding the Free Nutritious Meal programme through the education budget in the 2026 State Budget Law contravened Article 31 paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution, which mandates that the education budget be at least 20 per cent of the state budget.
The petitioners argued that the phrase ‘to prioritise’ in the 1945 Constitution indicates that the education budget must be treated as a primary item in the state’s fiscal policy and cannot be treated as an ordinary budget that can be diverted.
Furthermore, they contended that the education budget allocation should be used directly for core educational needs, including the provision of facilities and infrastructure, improving the quality of learning, the welfare of teaching staff, and equitable access to education.