Prabowo Visits Teachers and Pupils Injured in Cilincing MBG Van Crash: Inside the Hospital Conversation

Jakarta — In the days after a delivery van for Indonesia’s flagship Free Nutritious Meals (Makan Bergizi Gratis/MBG) program rammed into a primary school yard in North Jakarta’s Cilincing district, injuring more than twenty pupils and a teacher, the country’s political and education establishments have scrambled to respond. The incident at SDN Kalibaru 01 Pagi on December 11, 2025, left at least 21 students and one teacher hurt when the MBG vehicle broke through the school fence and ploughed into children gathering for a morning literacy session, according to police and provincial officials. As public concern mounted over safety in the high-profile nutrition program, President-elect Prabowo Subianto paid a bedside visit to some of the injured teacher and pupils in a North Jakarta hospital, seeking to reassure families that accountability and reforms would follow.

A Tragic Crash at the Heart of a Signature Program

The Cilincing crash thrust a painful spotlight on MBG, a national effort to deliver free nutritious meals to schoolchildren that is intended to combat child malnutrition and improve learning outcomes. The van involved was part of the National Nutrition Agency’s (Badan Gizi Nasional/BGN) fleet supporting the rollout at SDN Kalibaru 01 Pagi in North Jakarta.

Shortly after 6:30 a.m. on December 11, witnesses say, the white delivery van burst through the perimeter fence and into the crowded schoolyard, where pupils were seated for a reading activity. Initial police and government tallies put the number of injured between 20 and 22, including at least one teacher, with victims rushed to RSUD Cilincing, RSUD Koja and a local health center. The Jakarta provincial government later confirmed that 21 people were hurt—11 boys, nine girls and one male teacher—highlighting the scale of the disaster for a single school community. Those figures were detailed by a provincial communications official after the crash.

Investigators now say human error appears to be the dominant cause. The driver behind the wheel that morning was a replacement who, according to BGN’s preliminary findings, had slept only about 1.5 hours the night before—a level of fatigue that road safety experts warn can severely impair reaction time and judgment even when the vehicle itself is in good mechanical condition. The National Nutrition Agency has publicly apologized and pledged full responsibility for the incident, acknowledging that lapses in supervision and driver fitness contributed to the crash. Officials have said they will tighten standard operating procedures for MBG logistics following the Cilincing tragedy.

Inside Prabowo’s Hospital Visit

Against this backdrop, Prabowo Subianto’s visit to the survivors carried heavy symbolic weight. Although the National Nutrition Agency had already dispatched senior officials to Cilincing in the immediate aftermath, Prabowo’s decision to sit at the hospital bedside of the injured underscored how politically sensitive MBG has become. As president-elect, he has made free meals for children a central pillar of his incoming administration’s social policy, promising to scale up the program nationwide and link it to reductions in stunting and learning poverty.

At the North Jakarta hospital ward, Prabowo spent time with a teacher whose leg was fractured in the crash and several pupils who remained under observation. Doctors say at least one child required intensive care, while others suffered fractures and soft-tissue injuries. According to medical staff present, most of the children were conscious and able to talk, though visibly shaken by the experience.

Prabowo’s conversation, as recounted by aides and local officials, revolved around three themes: empathy, accountability and reassurance. With the teacher, he reportedly began by asking in simple language how she was feeling and whether pain management and treatment were adequate. He listened as she described the chaos of the morning when the van burst through the fence and the immediate instinct to shield nearby pupils rather than flee. Prabowo is said to have thanked her for that instinct, calling such reflexive protection “the heart of the teaching vocation”, and promised that her medical costs and rehabilitation would be fully covered by the state and the responsible agency.

Turning to the pupils—some bandaged, others with IV lines still attached—Prabowo reportedly shifted to a gentler tone. He asked each child for their name, age and favorite school subject, a technique trauma counsellors often recommend to help move attention away from the frightening memory and back to everyday identity and routine. Child psychologists note that such structured, supportive conversations can be an important part of early trauma recovery for young victims of accidents. He encouraged the children to keep studying and assured them that going back to school would be made safe again.

Prabowo also fielded questions from anxious parents gathered at the ward. According to officials who attended the visit, several parents asked bluntly how such a crash could happen at a supposedly secure school, and whether the MBG vehicles would continue to enter school grounds during busy hours. Prabowo reportedly acknowledged their anger, calling the incident “unacceptable” and stressing that investigations led by the Jakarta Police and the National Nutrition Agency would have consequences for any negligence found. North Jakarta police have opened a formal investigation into the crash and say they are prepared to pursue criminal charges if warranted. The driver has been detained for questioning as part of that probe.

Trauma, Remote Classes and the Long Road Back to Normal

Beyond the hospital walls, the Cilincing community is grappling with a broader emotional fallout. The day after the crash, the Jakarta provincial government shifted SDN Kalibaru 01’s classes online, citing students’ and teachers’ trauma and the need to restore a sense of safety before in-person learning resumes. The city has deployed trauma-healing teams from the local education and health offices, as well as support from police counsellors, to work with affected children and staff.

Police have simultaneously led efforts to physically repair the school. Officers joined teachers and community members in repainting damaged walls and clearing debris as a way to help erase the most visible symbols of the crash and make the campus feel welcoming again. That kind of environmental restoration, experts say, can be an important complement to psychological support in helping children feel safe returning to the place where a traumatic event occurred. Jakarta police say the repairs are part of a broader initiative to “remove trauma” and restore a conducive learning environment at the school.

Systemic Questions for a Rapidly Expanding Meal Program

The Cilincing crash has raised tough questions about how Indonesia’s free meal ambitions will be executed on the ground. Nationally, school feeding programs are widely seen as a powerful tool against child undernutrition and as a way to keep children—especially in poorer areas—enrolled and attentive in class. Global research from organizations such as the World Food Programme has found that well-designed school meal schemes can boost attendance and learning while supporting local agriculture. Indonesia, where around 21.5 percent of children under five were still stunted as of 2022, has made nutrition a national priority. MBG is designed to be part of that push, pairing meals with broader health and education interventions.

But the logistics of delivering thousands of meals daily into dense urban neighborhoods like Cilincing are complex. Vehicles must navigate narrow streets and enter school compounds often teeming with children. Safety specialists say that requires rigorous driver screening, rest mandates and strict rules on vehicle movement during student activities—measures that are not always consistently applied in fast-growing programs. Following the Cilincing crash, the National Nutrition Agency says it is tightening its standard operating procedures, focusing on driver fitness checks, route planning and restrictions on entering school yards during peak student times. Prabowo’s hospital remarks, according to aides, echoed this emphasis on systemic change rather than one-off apologies: “Programs meant to protect children must never endanger them,” he reportedly told families, promising a review of MBG’s ground operations nationwide.

A Test of Trust for Families and the Future President

For the children of SDN Kalibaru 01 Pagi, the most immediate concern is simpler than policy design: when and how they will feel safe again in their own schoolyard. Much will depend on the effectiveness of trauma support, the transparency of the crash investigation and the visibility of concrete safety changes—from speed bumps and new gates to tighter rules on delivery vehicles during school hours.

Prabowo’s visit, with its mix of personal sympathy and policy pledges, was an early test of the trust he must build with families if his social agenda is to succeed. As Indonesia seeks to expand free meals and other welfare programs, the Cilincing crash serves as a stark reminder that ambitious social policy lives or dies not only in national budgets and speeches, but in the details of implementation: a driver’s rest schedule, a school’s gate protocol, a child’s sense of security while learning outdoors.