Students Protest at Ministry of Education Demanding Halt to Free Nutritious Meals Programme

Hundreds of students from several universities in Jakarta demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology office on Monday, 4 May 2026. They came from, among others, Universitas Indonesia, Universitas Nasional, Universitas Pancasila, and the Cipayung Plus alliance.

The students took turns delivering speeches protesting the free nutritious meals project, which draws from the education budget allocation in the state budget. “The 20 percent state budget allocation for education is being cut for the MBG with an unclear direction,” said Bili Kurnia, a member of the Universitas Nasional Student Law Association, from atop the command vehicle.

According to Bili, MBG deserves to be stopped because it has shifted the focus of the national education programme. He believes MBG could become a tool for the government to co-opt society. “The purpose of education is to develop knowledge, but instead, it is being fed MBG,” he said.

Calls to halt MBG were also voiced through posters carried by UI students. They held posters satirising the wasteful use of state budget for MBG.

For example, “Able to pay SPPG, unable to pay teachers.” Another poster read “Education is plundered, MBG full throttle!” As this news is being written, the students are still demonstrating and demanding an audience with the minister or deputy minister of higher education.

The action crowd also continued to grow with the arrival of students from Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta. Their activities did not stop even as light rain began to fall.