Indonesia's Free Food History: Suharto's Strategy And The New Order To Increase School Children's Nutrition Standards

President Suharto and his eldest daughter, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana or Mbak Tutut. (Special)

JAKARTA - The concern of Suharto and the New Order (Orba) for education is second to none. The New Order government believes that Indonesian children must be prepared as the next generation of a brilliant nation. The program is Mandatory to Study Six Years from 1984, then it is Mandatory to Study Nine Years from 1994.

The New Order also glanced that students must have the same nutritional standards. The narrative made the New Order try to present a new program: free food. Supplementary Food Program for School Children (PMT-US)," he said.

The nation's founders never stop giving examples related to the great power of education. The line of education is considered an important tool for the Indonesian nation to become a great nation. The line of education is also considered an important pilgrimage to free the Indonesian people from the shackles of colonialism.

This portrait makes Suharto and New Order specialize the world of education. The New Order government dreams that all Indonesian people must at least come into contact with education. It should not be. Education is considered important to raise the status of the Indonesian nation in the eyes of the world.

Education can also make the nation's next generation emerge as agents of change that bring Indonesia up to the level of a great nation. The New Order government then inflamed Indonesian children to enjoy education from an early to a middle level.

The Sixth Year Study Mandatory Program was rolled out in 1984. The program tries to bring the nation's next generation to be able to take at least education until they graduate from elementary school (SD). This policy succeeded in improving Indonesian children who were touched by education.

New Order began to be confident by adding to its program targets. New Order presents the Mandatory Learning program for Nine Years in 1994. This program allows Indonesian children to study at least until junior high school. New Order is confident that Indonesian children can achieve higher education in the future.

The increase in the number of students will soon take place at the junior high school level, especially after the implementation of the Nine-Year Learning and Learning Policy in 1994. The number of students at higher levels of education remains small, but also has a significant increase. The number of students in universities, based on age group, increased from 1 percent in 1965 to 7 percent in 1986.

This increase even took place more noticeably after the number of existing universities increased, especially for private universities since 1990. In 1960, there were only 135 higher education institutions (regional and private) in Indonesia. In 1991, that number became 921, consisting of 872 private universities and 49 state universities, "said Yudi Latif in the book Muslim Inteligencies and attorneys (2005).

The government is not only thinking about how to make Indonesian children go to school. They also think about increasing the nutritional standards of school children, not getting sick easily. The New Order government views that the nutritional equality is considered an answer to the emergence of intelligent young people.

The New Order also initiated a free food program in 1997. PMT-US, his name. The program was strengthened by the birth of Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 1997. Its contents reveal the follow-up to the nine-year compulsory program.

The New Order asked its staff to work together to be able to meet the nutrition of elementary/MI school children. They must get supplementary foods that are nutritious at least three times a week. The goal is to encourage students' interest and learning skills.

Another goal is so that students don't get sick. They can continue to go to school and no one drop out of school. The form of the food is not in the form of rice and side dishes. However, in the form of snacks or small foods with high nutritional value take an example of green beans porridge.

Free food ingredients are required to come from local agriculture or industry. The program went smoothly. Many schools support it. However, a big problem occurred when Suharto and New Order collapsed. The program did not continue when the New Order changed the reform era.

Snack food for PMT-US must use local agricultural products and it is not justified to use factory product ingredients. Or industries purchased or imported from the city, such as powder milk, canned milk, cardboard milk, various instant noodles, bread or cakes for factory products.

PMT-US snacks must contain a minimum energy of 300 calories and 5 grams of protein for each child every day of the PMT-US implementation. These snacks are given at least 3 times a week or for 108 days of effective learning in one fiscal year. If possible, the provision of snacks can be held more than 3 times a week," said Presidential Instruction Number 1 of 1997 regarding PMT-US.