Jakarta (ANTARA) – The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) declared its readiness to execute the Free Nutritional Meals (MBG) program budget policy in compliance with the recent Constitutional Court (MK) ruling.
Speaking in Jakarta on Friday (July 31), BGN Head Sudaryono emphasized that as an operational body, the agency will strictly follow official state directives and budgeting mechanisms to ensure the program optimally complies with regulations.
“We are a government agency at the operational level. Whatever the state’s decision or government policy, we will carry out our duties to the best of our ability,” Sudaryono noted.
“Our job is to ensure that the MBG Program runs optimally for the community,” he added.
Addressing the fiscal mechanisms of the initiative, Sudaryono noted that overall budget allocations remain the domain of the central government through established channels with relevant ministries and agencies.
BGN’s main objective, he stressed, is ensuring that funds allocated to the program translate into direct, effective benefits for communities across Indonesia.
“The budget allocation for the MBG Program will be used optimally,” Sudaryono assured, adding that current program operations nationwide remain on track.
To improve efficiency, BGN is synchronizing data with line ministries to accelerate service expansion—particularly in areas exhibiting high stunting rates—ensuring nutritional interventions are precisely targeted.
Sudaryono further urged public support for government programs aimed at raising the quality of Indonesia’s human resources, noting that sustainable national progress relies on cross-sector collaboration grounded in data and optimism.
The Constitutional Court partially granted a judicial review regarding the budget structure of the MBG program during a plenary session in Jakarta on Thursday (July 30).
The court ruled that the MBG program budget must be separated from the mandatory 20 percent education allocation within the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN), mandating full implementation no later than the 2028 fiscal year.
Granting a maximum transition period of two years, the court required the government to establish an independent budget line for the feeding program outside of education funds in the 2028 APBN.
“Free nutritious meals (MBG) is not a primary component of education and must be separated from the education budget,” the Constitutional Court declared in its decision, noting that the program falls more appropriately under health, nutrition, and social protection.
While the court prohibited budget consolidation for future fiscal years, it declared that the utilization of education funds for MBG under the current 2026 State Budget remains valid for the sake of single-use legal certainty (einmalig).
If MBG funding remains within the education operational domain under the 2027 State Budget, such policy is justified only on the condition that it does not reduce or erode the core 20 percent minimum education budget allocation.
The lawsuit was filed by civil society representatives, practitioners, and teacher organizations—including the Taman Belajar Nusantara Foundation and the Save Indonesian Education Coalition—under cases No. 40, 52, and 55/PUU-XXIV/2026.
The petitioners challenged Article 22, Paragraph (3) of Law No. 17 of 2025 concerning the 2026 State Budget, arguing that routing MBG funding through the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) absorbed approximately Rp223.5 trillion (approximately US$12.34 billion), or nearly one-third of the total national education budget of Rp769.1 trillion (US$42.47 billion).
Plaintiffs argued that such an allocation narrowed the fiscal room needed to address critical educational priorities, including honorary teacher compensation, school infrastructure improvements, and rising student dropout rates.
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Translator: Lintang Budiyanti Prameswari, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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