Purbaya assures education budget meets 20 percent state budget mandate

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has assured that the government remains committed to fulfilling the constitutional mandate to allocate a minimum of 20 percent of the State Budget (APBN) to education. He made the statement while responding to the views of several House of Representatives (DPR RI) factions regarding the implementation of mandatory education spending during a DPR plenary session. “The government states that in accordance with the mandate of the 1945 Constitution, the state prioritises the education budget at a minimum of 20 percent of the APBN and APBD to meet the needs of national education provision,” Purbaya said at the 25th DPR Plenary Meeting of the Fifth Session Period in Jakarta on Tuesday. The education budget allocation is set annually in the APBN Law at 20 percent and is distributed through three pillars: central government expenditure, transfers to regions (TKD), and education financing. Although the realisation of the education budget in 2025 was recorded at 19.1 percent of actual spending, slightly below the target, the government is targeting the realisation to reach or even exceed 20 percent in 2026. “In implementation, sometimes there are obstacles here and there. It could be that the unit or department executing the policy is not ready. But what is important is that it continues to increase from year to year and is already approaching 20 percent. And this year we will really push for more than 20 percent,” said the Finance Minister. According to Purbaya, one reason the realisation has not yet reached 20 percent is changes in total state expenditure during the current fiscal year, causing the education budget portion to shift. However, adjustments to education programmes take time and cannot always be made immediately. Purbaya is optimistic the target can be achieved because the government has prepared several education programmes requiring large budgets. “We are building people’s schools, integrated schools, school renovations and others that are quite large. Later there will be other programmes, digital panels for schools throughout Indonesia, which cost quite a lot. I think we will also strengthen the LPDP with additional capital, if I am not mistaken this year we are adding Rp25 trillion. So the allocation for education will be ensured to reach 20 percent,” the Finance Minister explained.