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View all search resultsCivil servant status for free meals staff sidelines honorary teachers
Honorary teachers who have served for years remain unpaid and overlooked as kitchen staff in President Prabowo’s free nutritious meal program secure full-time government contracts, sparking criticism over education funding priorities.
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Class struggle: Teacher Armani checks his students’ work on Nov. 20, 2025, in their damaged classroom at SDN 2 state elementary school in Cibaliung village, Pandeglang regency, Banten. (Antara/Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas)
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fter 12 years working as an honorary teacher at a vocational high school (SMK) in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Asih Darmastuti, not her real name, was finally appointed as a part-time government contract employee (PPPK) last November.
At 36, despite holding a teaching degree and completing multiple professional training, she was the school’s longest-serving honorary teacher before securing a one-year contract. But until Friday, she was still waiting to receive her first salary.
Recalling years of uncertainty, Asih said she was shocked to learn that kitchen staff for President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free nutritious meal program were set to be appointed as full-time PPPK employees just a year after the program’s launch, a position higher than hers.
“I was surprised to hear the news,” she told The Jakarta Post on Friday. “I have not been paid and my status is still unclear, but the free meals program is drawing from education funds, which should’ve been enough to pay us all.”
She feels “sidelined, though not entirely surprised”, seeing the President place his flagship program above education.
The National Nutrition Agency (BGN), which manages the program, said it is focusing on expanding beneficiary coverage and improving service quality across its more than 21,000 kitchens that employ a total of 887,000 workers.
BGN head Dadan Hindayana said only certain positions would be appointed as PPPK. “Those to be appointed include heads of kitchen units, nutrition service administrators and financial service administrators,” he said on Friday.
