JAKARTA - The government has confirmed that the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program does not reduce the education budget to respond to the narrative that is circulating in the public that the program sucks in a considerable amount of funds from the state budget, including education and health.
Hariqo Wibawa Satria Government Communication Agency Expert explained that the education budget in 2026 reached Rp769.8 trillion, of which there was a component of budget allocation of Rp223.5 billion for the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) to manage the MBG Program.
"Nutrition is the foundation of learning. So, this MBG is not reducing education, but rather ensuring that the large education budget does not become useless because students are ready to learn," said Hariqo as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, March 5.
He emphasized that MBG is an integral part of the education system because nutrition is the foundation for the learning process of students. In addition, various other education programs have not experienced budget reductions, in fact, some of them have increased, such as teacher allowances and educational assistance.
"The document that was circulated shows the classification of the budget function or the education budget component, not the education budget cut. So, the mistake is not the state budget, but how to read it, because MBG and education are a unity, and the education budget for 2026 has been agreed upon together by the government and the DPR RI," he explained.
Not only feeding, the MBG Program is the foundation for human resource development towards the Golden Indonesia 2045, considering that the data collected by the government shows that 96 percent of the Indonesian people have been consuming less vegetables and fruits, 66 percent of children have poor eating patterns, and 65 percent of children do not eat breakfast before going to school.
"In addition, 32 percent of adolescent girls are anemic and 21 percent of toddlers are stunted," he said.
Hariqo also added, through MBG, the government wants to build a new culture, namely healthy eating habits and nutritional awareness from school age.
"Indonesia Emas 2045 is simple, our children have high income, healthy bodies, smart brains, good morals, and are able to compete with other nations. Through MBG, a nutritious eating culture is built. If children didn't want to eat vegetables and fruit before, when they see their friends and eat together, then the habit of eating nutritious food is automatically built," said Hariqo.
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