The pattern of education spending in Indonesian regions during 2017–2024 reflects the strong impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on regional fiscal priorities and human capital investment. Average education expenditure remained relatively stable at around 25–26% during 2017–2019, before falling sharply to 8.31% in 2020 as regional governments reallocated budgets toward emergency health responses and social assistance programs. Education spending recovered quickly in 2021, reaching 26.65%, and remained relatively stable at around 24–25% during 2022–2023. The near-zero average recorded in 2024 likely reflects incomplete fiscal reporting or temporary classification issues rather than an actual collapse in education financing. Significant regional disparities also emerged, with East Nusa Tenggara recording the highest average education spending share at 46.41%, followed by West Sumatra (40.92%) and Maluku (37.78%), indicating a stronger fiscal emphasis on human capital development in these provinces. Moreover, the distribution of spending shows that most regions allocated between 20% and 30% of their budgets to education, although several outliers exceeded 40%, reflecting exceptionally high commitment toward educational development in certain regions.