Teachers' Association Distrusts BGN's Efficiency Claims on Free Nutritious Meals
The Education and Teachers Association (P2G) doubts the National Nutrition Agency’s (BGN) claim that it is evaluating and streamlining the free nutritious meals (MBG) project. This scepticism emerged after BGN proposed a budget ceiling of Rp 270 trillion for 2027, despite previously announcing plans for savings and a programme restructuring.
P2G’s Head of Teacher Advocacy, Iman Zanatul Haeri, assessed that the large proposed budget indicates BGN is not seriously evaluating President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship programme. “We have reason not to believe that BGN is conducting an evaluation,” Iman said when confirmed on Sunday, 21 June 2026.
According to Iman, the budget proposal contradicts the judicial review petition filed by P2G with the Constitutional Court regarding the use of education funds to finance MBG. He believes the government is not responding to the criticism consistently voiced by teachers and education activists. “This shows that BGN is not considering, not listening, and lacks evaluation capability,” he stated.
During a meeting with House of Representatives Commission IX some time ago, BGN proposed a 2027 indicative budget ceiling of Rp 270 trillion, with the education function portion reaching approximately Rp 224 trillion. This figure is even higher than the previous year’s allocation.
For P2G, this condition indicates that the government is prioritising the MBG programme over improving education quality. Iman argued that the success of the nutritious meal programme should be accompanied by strengthening the quality of learning in schools. “If the budget for proper or quality learning is taken away, then the goals of MBG will certainly not be achieved,” he said. “We have reason to consider MBG an enemy of education.”
Iman noted a contradiction between the statement of BGN Head Nanik Sudaryati Deyang, who promised efficiency, and the realisation of a budget proposal that remains high. He touched on several discourses previously conveyed by BGN, such as focusing the programme on disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost regions, nutritionally vulnerable groups, and even halting MBG for certain groups.
According to him, these various promises are not reflected in the budget proposal submitted to the DPR. “Those promises actually align with our recommendations. But these promises do not correlate with the MBG budget still at Rp 270 trillion and the education function taken at Rp 224 trillion,” he said.
Therefore, P2G considers their lawsuit in the Constitutional Court increasingly relevant. Iman even stated that the government still misunderstands the difference between the education function and nutritional fulfilment programmes. “This proves that the government does not understand what the education function is and does not understand what education quality is,” he said.
P2G also requested that House Commission IX clarify its stance after agreeing to discuss the budget ceiling. According to Iman, the public needs to know the DPR’s position on the controversy over using education funds to finance MBG.
Previously, BGN stated it was recalculating the MBG budget requirements for 2027 together with the Ministry of Finance. BGN is also reviewing several efficiency schemes, including adjustments to beneficiaries, evaluation of MBG kitchens, and improvements to programme governance. Nevertheless, the previously proposed indicative ceiling of Rp 270 trillion remains the basis for initial discussions between the government and the DPR for the 2027 fiscal year.