Controversy over MBG Using Nearly Half of Indonesia's Education Budget

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September 4, 2025 | 10:39 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto delivered a speech on the 2026 Draft State Budget (RAPBN) and the financial note at the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the Joint Session of the House of Representatives (DPR) and Regional Representatives Council (DPD) at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on August 15, 2025. On that occasion, Prabowo emphasized that several of his flagship programs, such as the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG), the Red and White Village Cooperative, community schools, and free health check-ups, have provided tangible benefits to the community.

Prabowo stated that the MBG program has benefited 20 million beneficiaries, while free health check-ups have reached more than 17 million people. School revitalization has also been carried out in more than 13,000 schools and Islamic schools, as well as 100 community schools.

"Although it's only been running for eight months, the results of the Free Nutritious Meals program have shown an increase in school attendance and improved student achievement," Prabowo said in his speech at the MPR Annual Session and the joint session of the DPR-DPD at the Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Friday, August 15, 2025.

Prabowo emphasized that the MBG program is not merely social assistance, but is a foundation for building a healthy, intelligent, and productive generation. Currently, 5,800 Nutrition Service Fulfillment Units have been established in 38 provinces. He also claimed that the program has improved farmer welfare and created employment for around 290,000 people. "MBG also stimulates the village economy," Prabowo said.

He also stated that the government has allocated Rp757.8 trillion for the education sector in the 2026 State Budget. This amount is said to be in accordance with mandatory spending regulations, which require a minimum of 20 percent of the total state budget.

The Indonesian President claimed that the allocation of education funds during his administration was the largest in Indonesian history. According to Prabowo, this budget increase is expected to encourage the realization of a higher-quality education system.

Ubaid Matraji, National Coordinator of the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), believes that President Prabowo prefers to allocate the education budget to the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program rather than implementing the Constitutional Court's (MK) ruling on free schools.

"As much as 44.2 percent of the budget was diverted to the MBG program, instead of implementing the free school decree. This clearly violates the constitution," said Ubaid in a written statement received by Tempo on Sunday, August 17, 2025.

Ubaid reminded that the government's obligation had been affirmed by the Constitutional Court through two decisions: case No. 3/PUU-XXII/2024 on May 27, and decision No. 111/PUU-XXIII/2025 on August 15, 2025.

According to Ubaid, the repeated mention of these decisions should have been a strong signal for the government to immediately implement them, rather than diverting almost half the budget to programs not mandated by the constitution. He emphasized that Article 31 of the 1945 Constitution states that every citizen has the right to education, and the government is obliged to finance basic education. "Our constitution never mandates free meals," he said.

Adhitya Wardhono, an Economics lecturer at the University of Jember, assessed that the MBG program for addressing stunting is a strategic step, but still poses significant challenges in the implementation phase.

"The allocation of Rp335 trillion in the MBG to address stunting and improve the quality of Indonesia's human resources is an important step, but the main challenge lies in its effective implementation on the ground," said Adhitya.

He emphasized that this substantial budget needs to be accompanied by strict oversight to ensure targeted distribution, ensure food quality, and truly encourage the empowerment of MSMEs and strengthen the local economy.

Dede Leni Mardianti, Andi Adam Faturahman, and Muhammad Nafis Wirasaputra contributed to this article.

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