Indonesia’s mission is to provide free meals to 80 million school children, but it has not completely disappeared according to the plan.
Nearly 80 students from two high schools in Cianjur, south of the capital Jakarta, fell ill after a meal this week. Since then, most people who end up in the hospital have been discharged.
This is the latest in a series of food poisoning related to the program, which is the signature policy of President Prabowo Subupishan.
Authorities investigating the case said the suspicious cause was negligent food preparation. Samples from students vomiting have been sent for laboratory testing, and police said they question people handling food, from chefs to packers and delivery workers.
A 16-year-old student told local media that the chicken in the meal had an “unpleasant smell”. “I feel dizzy, nausea and vomiting,” he said.
Worldwide, programs that offer free meals to students have proven to effectively improve health, academic performance and attendance.
But Indonesia’s $28 billion (£2.1 billion) version (shapes the most expensive of its kind) has become a target for food safety issues and aggravated anti-government protests.
In February, when thousands of street protested budget cuts, their anger came at the price of Prabowo’s free school meals: “Children eat for free, parents were fired,” one of their signs of protest.
Exercise commitment to acid
Last year, the heart of Prabowo’s presidential campaign was a free dining program in a way to deal with developmental delays—a malnutrition-induced disease that affected one in five children in Indonesia under the age of five.
“Through this initiative, our children will become taller and champions,” Prabowo said in 2023.
Since he took office in October last year, the program, along with other populist policies such as new homes and free medical checkups, has won him political views. After taking office, his approval rate was 80%.
From the first phase of January, free school meals have been brought to 550,000 students in 26 provinces on their way.
Although the program is “good intentional”, Maria Monica Wihardja, a visitor to the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute, told the BBC there is no “no evidence” that free school meals are “widespread urgency”.
According to a national survey in 2024, less than 1% of Indonesian families have gone to at least one day without any meals in the past year.
Free meal plan is Prabowo’s flagship sports commitment [Getty Images]
Since January, a series of food poisoning has raised concerns about free meals.
Michelle, a primary school student in the East Nusa Tenggara province, is one of several people in her school who suffered food poisoning in February. She told the BBC Indonesian at the time that the food that caused her stomach to be “bland and stale”.
After the incident, some parents began preparing homemade lunches for their children.
This week, authorities have pledged to strengthen the food safety process after Sijur’s food poisoning.
“We have to improve quality,” said Dadan Hindayana, head of the National Nutrition Agency, who visited students in the hospital.
“One obvious thing is the lack of mature and in-depth plans before the program is launched,” Eliza Mardian, a researcher at the Indonesian Center for Economic Reform, told the BBC.
“The hasty ended up sacrificing quality and effectiveness, which actually worsened the public’s perception of the program.”
The $10 billion bill
The cost of the plan is of no help.
Indonesia has set aside more than $10 billion for free school meals this year.
By comparison, India spends $1.5 billion a year to provide 120 million children to the world’s largest program. The Brazilian version costs about the same, serving approximately 40 million students.
To pay for Indonesia’s huge bill, Prabowo urged the country’s tycoons to help and accepted China’s funding offers.
He also ordered $19 billion in cuts, as well as other populist plans, which are particularly controversial.
The budgets of several ministries, including education, have been cut in half. The bureaucrats who had not taken leave alleged that they were forced to use air conditioners, lifts and even printers, and were forced to scribble their feet.
College students were angry because of canceled scholarship programs and class interruptions in the spread of news.
“The worst thing is when the stomach is full but the brain is not filled.” Wanlun student protester Mohammed Ramadan told the BBC Indonesian – referring to Prabowo’s school meal plan.
The cost of a free meal plan doesn’t help [Getty Images]
There may be more challenges, such as allegations of poor budget management, after the Indonesian countergrafting agency raised the “real possibility” in March.
Police launched an investigation this month after a catering provider in southern South Jakarta accused authorities of misappropriating the company, saying she has not been paid since the kitchen began preparing school meals in February.
Prabowo, who continues to defend the plan, said this week that his administration will “handle” the allegations and “protect public funds for every penny.”
However, experts say the problem is much deeper.
Muhammad Rafi Bakri, a research analyst with the Indonesian Audit Commission, told the BBC that Indonesia’s massive social assistance programs were historically “full of corruption”.
“The plan is a gold mine for corrupt officials considering the huge scale of the budget,” he said.
Reports with BBC Indonesians
