Indonesia will suspend its flagship free school meals programme during school holidays and scale back its coverage as authorities move to ease pressure on the state budget while tightening oversight following governance concerns.
According to Reuters, the suspension will run from June 22 to July 13 and will also apply to future school holiday periods, according to the National Nutrition Agency. The programme had previously continued during breaks, including last year.
Officials also confirmed a reduction in coverage, with funding withdrawn for around 39,000 students across 76 schools in more developed regions assessed as capable of meeting nutritional needs. Resources will instead be redirected to students in remote and underserved areas.
Deputy head of the agency Agustina Arumsari said the changes form part of a broader efficiency and restructuring effort, following the arrest earlier this month of the agency’s former chief on allegations of corruption linked to the programme.
The programme’s budget has already been reduced significantly to 268 trillion rupiah (US$15.1 billion) from 335 trillion rupiah, with further cuts under consideration for next year. The agency had previously planned a 270 trillion rupiah allocation.
“We think the figure is too big,” Arumsari said, adding that spending needs to be optimised under current fiscal conditions.
Additional savings are expected from cutting incentives for kitchens that remain closed during school holidays, a move that could save about 3.4 trillion rupiah. Officials also signalled that further adjustments may follow depending on social and economic conditions, including potential closures of underperforming kitchens or those serving too few beneficiaries.
