Indonesia
Several plaintiffs and education observers critiqued the Constitutional Court for not ordering the government to immediately revise the 2026 and 2027 state budget, which is still in deliberation, to exclude allocations for the free meals program from the education budget.
Workers prepare meal packages to be distributed to pregnant women, nursing mothers and toddlers under the free nutritious meal program on July 30 in Batam, Riau Islands. (Antara/Teguh Prihatna)
The Constitutional Court has ruled that President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free nutritious meal program should no longer be funded through the state budget’s allocation for education, a decision welcomed with caution by teachers and civil groups.During a hearing on Thursday, the nine-justice panel ruled that the program, which was rolled out last year to combat stunting, does not qualify as an educational operational expense. The ruling was for a judicial review petition filed by education nonprofit Yayasan Taman Belajar Nusantara, along with several university students and a private employee.
The free meal inclusion in the education allocation of the 2026 state budget has violated the 1945 Constitution, which mandates that at least 20 percent of the national budget be spent on education expenses, according to the justices.
