The nation’s top constitutional court ruled that the government cannot continue to finance its multibillion-dollar free meals programme with funds sourced from the education budget, delivering another blow to President Prabowo Subianto’s main campaign promise.
The free meals programme was launched in 2025 with the aim of feeding 83 million school children and expectant mothers to combat under-nutrition.
But its sheer size, as well as the logistical challenges of operating across an archipelago of 280 million people, has left the government with a heavy price tag, dwarfing most other programmes, sparking fears that it could drive up the fiscal deficit.
Chief judge Suhartoyo said on Thursday that the free meals budget must be separated from the budget for operational spending on education starting from 2028 at the latest, with judges recommending that the split take place as early as next year.
The ruling came after students and educators filed petitions against the country’s state budget law for 2026, which counted the free meals programme as an “educational provision” that required operational funding.
The government has defended the allocation in court, arguing that improving nutrition should be part of the education process.
But last month, witness Iman Zanatul Haeri, a history teacher, told the court through tears that the programme had coincided with the termination of teacher contracts as well as salary cuts. — Reuters
