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View all search resultsFree meals overshadow core education spending in 2026 budget
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Bill Gates, accompanied by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, views meal boxes on May 7 during their visit to a school to inspect the free nutritious meal program in Jakarta. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
C
oncerns are mounting that President Prabowo Subianto’s free nutritious meal program could overshadow meaningful improvements in education, as nearly half of the mandated 20 percent state budget allocation for education is set to be absorbed by the costly flagship initiative next year.
The President said in a state budget address at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on Friday that education would receive Rp 757.8 trillion (US$46.82 billion) in the upcoming fiscal year, the largest allocation for the sector in the nation’s history.
“Education is the most powerful tool to develop globally competitive human resources and to eradicate poverty. The government is committed to [fulfill its Constitutional obligation] of allocating 20 percent of the state budget to the education sector in 2026,” Prabowo said.
At a separate press conference on the same day, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati revealed that some Rp335 trillion, or about 42 percent of total the education budget, would be dedicated to Prabowo’s free meals program, which is expected to reach 82.9 million beneficiaries by the end of next year.
The second-largest share, Rp 179 trillion, will cover salaries and allowances for teachers and lecturers, while Rp 150 trillion has been earmarked for school construction, renovation and operations, including Rp 25 trillion for Sekolah Rakyat (community schools), Prabowo’s flagship boarding school program for children from poor families.
Read also: Court orders govt to provide free basic education in all schools
Misplaced priorities
