Antara News·Indonesia·Friday, September 4, 2026 at 04:55 AM

BGN refutes claims schools forced to reopen for MBG amid haze

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Lintang Budiyanti P, Nabil Ihsan

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Nutrition Agency (BGN) emphasised it never forced the distribution of Free Nutritious Food (MBG) packages to school closed due to haze in regions affected by forest and land fires.

"We never force the school to open for the sake of the MBG programme. Never," BGN Head Sudaryono said after a hearing at the Parliament Building in Jakarta on Thursday (Sept 3).

He conveyed the assurance to respond to reports about parents or children forced to retrieve MBG packages at schools despite being closed due to haze.

"The school closure was announced after the cooking process at the MBG kitchen had already begun. The ingredients had been prepared for that day and it should be cooked that day. It happened only on that one day. There was no further MBG distribution in the following days," Sudaryono said.

MBG operation in provinces affected by forest fire and haze is subject to regional governments' decisions on school activities, he added.

"As Kalimantan and Sumatra are engulfed in forest fire and haze, we follow any decision from the local authority if they decide to close the school," he stated.

Indonesia is stepping up efforts to combat forest and land fires after nearly 286,000 hectares of land were scorched nationwide between January and late August 2026.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported over 48,889 hectares had been scorched across six priority provinces, while the Forestry Ministry’s SIPONGI system recorded more than 1,200 active hotspots at peak levels across Kalimantan and Sumatra.

The extensive fires have been driven by a prolonged El Nino-induced dry spell and exacerbated by illegal land-clearing practices.

According to the Forestry Ministry data, as of September 1, hotspots in West Kalimantan increased from 273 to 859, while those in Central Kalimantan rose from 253 to 623.

Hotspots in South Sumatra increased from 20 to 89, while those in South Kalimantan rose from 22 to 73.

Riau remained at zero, while Jambi increased from zero to four.

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