Prabowo Expands Free Education Mandate to Kindergartens
Prabowo Expands Free Education Mandate to Kindergartens
Reporter
September 23, 2026 | 09:40 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto has mandated his ministers to draft the education budget that allows for free public education to expand for kindergarten children.
Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti said after a limited meeting with the president that the school operational assistance (BOS) funds will no longer be limited to the primary school, but also to kindergartens.
“Children and students of elementary schools and kindergartens, starting this year, will receive BOS funds and the PIP (Smart Indonesia Program),” Abdul Mu’ti said, referring to the assistance for students from low-income families.
According to the minister, Prabowo mandated for kindergarten students to receive PIP assistance amounting to Rp450,000 per year starting from 2027.
“We will announce the number of recipients later, including the commitment to 13 years of compulsory education, starting from kindergarten. Because of this, the government is committed to extending support,” he said.
The 13-Year Compulsory Education is part of the government’s medium-term priority program. This program mandates Indonesian children aged 5-6 to study at the kindergarten for a year before entering primary school.
President Prabowo led a meeting on free education at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday. The meeting, which lasted approximately two hours, was attended by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Pratikno, Minister of Elementary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu’ti, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Brian Yuliarto, and Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar.
Also present were Minister of Finance Suahasil Nazara, Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf, Head of the Statistics Indonesia (BPS) Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya.
Read: Prabowo Holds Meeting on Plan for Free Public Education
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