Indonesia's Constitutional Court Separates Free Nutrition Program Budget from Education Funds

Indonesia's Constitutional Court has mandated that the budget for President Prabowo Subianto's "MBG" (free nutrition) program must be separated from education funds by 2028. The court's decision, announced Thursday, July 30, 2026, partially granted a lawsuit challenging the inclusion of the program in the 2026 State Budget.

“

Whatever the Constitutional Court's decision, of course, we will respect it, and we will study it later.

The court ruled that the MBG program cannot be defined as part of educational activities. This separation aims to uphold the constitutional requirement for a mandatory 20% allocation of the state budget to education. The court emphasized that separating the MBG budget from education funds provides a stronger legal basis for the program, which is a government priority.

“

Because in any case, if it concerns budget matters, of course, we are not alone. Because the budget is something we compile together with our friends in the DPR. So please give us time.

Minister Secretary of State Prasetyo Hadi acknowledged the ruling, stating that the palace has received information about the decision and will study it. He noted that budget matters require collaboration with the House of Representatives. The court suggested that the government should ideally complete the budget separation by APBN 2027, two years earlier than the 2028 deadline.

“

The MBG program must be removed or separated from the definition of operationalizing education, so that it no longer uses the education budget allocation in the APBN.