JAKARTA -- A plan to make public education free through university in Indonesia has raised concerns that the necessary funding -- nearly 10% of government spending -- would become yet another source of fiscal strain following the rollout of free school meals and other costly programs.

President Prabowo Subianto revealed the plan in a speech last month, saying that "education at public elementary schools, junior high schools, senior high schools and universities must be free." A task force of ministers has been established to design the system.

The government plans to launch a pilot program in remote regional areas next year and expand coverage to as much as 75% of students nationwide in 2028. By 2029, it aims to cover all students.

Tuition at public universities is determined based on household income and other factors. At the University of Indonesia, one of the country's top institutions, annual tuition ranges from about 1 million rupiah to 40 million rupiah ($55 to $2,210).

The government estimates that making education free from primary school through university would cost about 300 trillion rupiah annually, close to a tenth of total government expenditure.

One reason the Prabowo administration is considering the plan is the need to expand the pool of college-educated workers to attract advanced industries like artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

While the proportion of Indonesians receiving university-level education has been gradually increasing, the higher education enrollment rate remains slightly above 40%, lower than Singapore, China and Japan.

For Prabowo, the initiative also carries a clear political aspect ahead of a presidential election scheduled for 2029. More than 20% of voters are from Generation Z, which includes current university students. Including parents who would see reduced education expenses, the number of people who stand to benefit from the plan is even larger.

Indonesia has moved to eliminate tuition fees at elementary, middle and high schools up to now. The Prabowo administration has also begun considering making other education-related expenses, such as uniforms and textbooks, free of charge and extending support to public kindergartens.

But if implemented, the plans could worsen the country's fiscal position. According to parliamentary estimates, annual funding requirements in 2029 would reach 210 trillion rupiah for kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, plus more than 90 trillion rupiah for universities and vocational institutions.

The Prabowo administration has proposed policies that critics say amount to populist spending, contributing to confusion over fiscal management.

The free school meal program, launched in January 2025, aims to serve 80 million students through the high school level. The initial budget for the program was set at 335 trillion rupiah.

The rushed rollout led to food poisoning incidents that affected more than 50,000 students, as well as cases of corruption. Amid growing public dissatisfaction, the government cut the 2026 school meal budget to about 230 trillion rupiah.

Another initiative calls for the establishment of 80,000 village cooperatives nationwide requiring an estimated 240 trillion rupiah in funding. Each cooperative would operate stores selling food and other goods at affordable prices aimed at creating jobs and fueling growth, though many have questioned whether the businesses can be run profitably.

In June, it emerged the military had required more than 30,000 cooperative managers to undergo basic military training that had little connection to their duties, resulting in the death of five people from heatstroke and other causes.

As tax revenues have weakened amid a deteriorating economic outlook, Indonesia's fiscal deficit last year expanded beyond expectations, reaching 2.9% of gross domestic product, close to the legal ceiling of 3%. With fuel subsidy costs rising as a result of higher crude oil prices due to the Middle East crisis, some analysts expect the deficit to exceed 3% this year.

In July, Perry Warjiyo, who had served as central bank governor since 2018, resigned before the end of his term. Then in mid-September, the government announced a change of finance minister Some observers view the events as reflecting broader disarray in economic policymaking.

In February and March, Moody's Ratings and Fitch Ratings both revised Indonesia's credit rating outlook from stable to negative.

Financial markets have also grown more cautious. The rupiah has remained near record lows, while the yield on 10-year government bonds has risen from 6.1% at the beginning of the year to 7.1%.

To make education free, funds should be reallocated from programs like school meals and the cooperatives, said Teuku Riefky, a researcher at the Institute for Economic and Social Research at the University of Indonesia.