Prabowo asks BGN to review the MBG budget of Rp. 15 thousand per student

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto asked the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to review the adequacy of the budget for the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program of Rp. 15 thousand per recipient, before setting the next policy.

Deputy Head of BGN Agustina Arumsari said the President asked all policy options to be thoroughly calculated and reviewed before being decided.

"He said whether the Rp15 thousand budget was enough? Please examine. If it is not enough, what is the number," said Agustina after meeting President Prabowo, as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, July 15.

According to him, the directive is a guideline for BGN in perfecting the implementation of the MBG program.

"But the point is, in my opinion, it's a very good thing, a very clear direction for us to work on improving later," said Agustina.

When asked about the issue of reducing the MBG budget, Agustina said the budget amount was still in the process of being calculated. "That was in the past, it means it's still being calculated," he said.

Agustina also did not confirm the issue of reducing the budget for the MBG program after the evaluation during the school holidays. "Who said it, ask the one who made the news," he said.

Previously, the details of the budget per portion of MBG for each student of Early Childhood Education (PAUD) to grade 3 elementary school amounted to Rp. 8,000, and for students in grade 4 elementary school to SLTA reached Rp. 10,000. The amount is the details of the cost of raw materials, in addition to operational costs of Rp. 3,000 and facilities budget of Rp. 2,000 which are calculated in each portion of MBG.