Responding To Students In Papua Demo Rejecting MBG, Mendikdasmen: This Program Continues To Be Evaluated

Mendikdasmen Abdul Mu'ti ditemui usai acara Sarasehan NU di Jakarta pada Selasa (4/2/2025). (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen) Abdul Mu'ti responded to students from Papua who refused the Free Nutrition Food (MBG) program.

Mu'ti stated that the MBG program to support physical health for learning capital allows Indonesian children to learn better.

"Because nutrition is full, it has very high correlations with excellent stamina, and excellent stamina is very supportive of the enthusiasm and energy of the students to always learn and be enthusiastic in studying," he said when met after Sarasehan Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) in Jakarta on Tuesday, February 4, was confiscated by Antara.

He also emphasized that the MBG program also supports strengthening education from an early age, considering that the target of the program is elementary school students, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, to toddlers.

"Because programs like this are very important, especially if we say how we can strengthen education since elementary education, which we have started as one of the priority programs, namely 13 years of compulsory education starting from kindergarten," he said.

According to him, the Government certainly continues to evaluate the MBG program and continues to listen to input from the public, including one of the cases that occurred in Papua.

"This program will continue to be evaluated later, and will also continue to be refined, so that various cases that occur in the field will certainly be input for the improvement of this MBG program in the future," he said.

He emphasized that the principle at the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) will continue to fully support the Free Nutrition Food program.

"And various evaluations that occur in the field, we will also provide input for the improvement of the MBG program in the future," he said.

Previously, it was known that there were hundreds of elementary-high school students who held demonstrations in Yahukimo, Papua Mountains for rejecting the MBG program, on the grounds that they preferred educational programs, such as free school fees.

This was widely reported both in the mass media and social media.