Teacher Welfare Not Neglected by Free Nutritious Meals Programme, Says Cabinet Secretary

Jakarta – Teacher welfare has come under scrutiny over concerns that the free nutritious meals (MBG) programme may be reducing educational budgets and programmes. Responding to these allegations, Cabinet Secretary (Seskab) Teddy Indra Wijaya clarified that responsibility for honorary teachers falls under the purview of local governments (pemda), whilst the central government provides incentives and supplementary support to educators.

“There are claims that teachers are not being prioritised. In fact, there are three points to address. First, regarding honorary teachers. I must clarify that honorary teachers fall under the authority of local governments. However, the central government provides incentives. These incentives are not salaries; they are supplements,” Seskab Teddy told journalists at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Friday, 27 February 2026.

Teddy stated that honorary teacher incentives have been increased to Rp400,000 under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration. He emphasised that these incentives had not been raised for 20 years prior to this increase.

“Consider this: from 2005 to 2025, such incentives existed without any increase. They were only raised during President Prabowo’s tenure, reaching Rp400,000. Imagine – for 20 years, these incentives never increased. They only rose last year to Rp400,000,” he stated.

Beyond this, Teddy explained that the government has also increased allowances for non-ASN teachers to Rp2 million. The administration has also implemented a policy providing direct allowances to teachers, bypassing the need for regional government transfers.

“There are allowances for non-ASN teachers. How much? They increased from Rp1.5 million last year to Rp2 million. Additionally, what teachers have particularly appreciated is that previously, honour allowances were provided through transfers to regions, with regions then distributing them,” Teddy said.

This policy has been implemented across all non-ASN teachers in accordance with President Prabowo Subianto’s directive. According to Teddy, this demonstrates the government’s commitment to teacher welfare.

“And previously, they would only receive payment every three months. Last year, the President instructed that payments be made directly to teachers every month, and this has now been implemented,” he added.

Furthermore, all policies and directives from President Prabowo are being coordinated through the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikdasmen). Teddy reiterated that no educational programmes have been reduced or halted due to the MBG programme.