A kindergarten in Indonesia's East Java province has come under fire for dressing children in niqabs and having them carry fake assault rifles for a local Independence Day parade.

Key points: The kindergarten has apologised and says they weren't radicalising the students

The kindergarten has apologised and says they weren't radicalising the students The Minister of Education and Culture increased the school's funding on Sunday

The Minister of Education and Culture increased the school's funding on Sunday Indonesia celebrated its 73rd Independence anniversary on Friday

The pre-schoolers from the TK Kartika — a kindergarten located in an Indonesian military housing complex in Probolinggo — marched on the streets as part of the festivities.

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Indonesia celebrated its 73rd Independence anniversary on Friday, marking the end of colonial rule with parades and displays of the national flag.

But over the weekend, footage of the children walking down a street during the celebrations wearing niqabs and carrying what appeared to be cardboard cut-outs of assault rifles went viral across the country.

In a local press conference on Saturday, the head of the school Yuliana Tungga Dewi apologised for the incident, according to a report from CNN Indonesia.

"We didn't mean any harm, nor did we have the intention to instil any sense of aggression in the children," she said.

Ms Dewi said the children's performance was not intended to show support for any radical religious groups, and was simply a show of faith.

Speaking to the local Indonesian media outlet Detik, Indonesia's Minister for Education and Culture Muhajir Effendy said he did not see anything wrong with the kindergarten's actions.

He said it was clear the school did not intend to radicalise its students.

"It's simply a coincidence, and I can't imagine that it could be the implication," he said.

On Sunday, he announced his department would allocate 25 million Rupiah ($AU2,346) in additional funding to the school, which he said was necessary for operational costs and to help disadvantaged families enrol their children.

Analysts say there has been a shift away from religious pluralism in Indonesia in the past couple years, particularly following the imprisonment of Jakarta's former minority Chinese-Christian governor Ahok, who was found guilty of blasphemy last year.