Nitish Kumar Announces Double Salary for Bihar Education Workers
Patna, August 2: In a major pre-poll move, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced a significant salary hike for several categories of education department workers. Cooks, night watchmen, and physical education and health instructors will now receive double their previous honorarium, the Chief Minister declared on Friday through a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The decision comes months before the Bihar Assembly elections, which are scheduled to be held across the 243 constituencies in November-December 2025.
Salary Hike Aimed at Recognition and Welfare
Nitish Kumar said the decision was taken to honour the crucial contributions of these support workers in strengthening Bihar’s school education system. “Cooks, night watchmen, and physical education and health instructors have played an important role in strengthening the education system. Keeping this in mind, we have decided to double their honorarium,” he said.
The salary revision includes:
- Cooks under the mid-day meal scheme: Honorarium increased from ₹1,650 to ₹3,300 per month.
- Night watchmen in secondary/higher secondary schools: Pay doubled from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 per month.
- Physical education and health instructors: Monthly remuneration raised from ₹8,000 to ₹16,000.
- Annual Increment: Increased from ₹200 to ₹400.
This marks one of the largest salary hikes for contractual and support staff in the education sector in recent years in Bihar.
Political Timing and Poll Calculations
The announcement is widely viewed as a strategic move ahead of the crucial assembly elections later this year. Nitish Kumar, who leads the Janata Dal (United), is keen on regaining strong public support, especially from the rural education sector.
Support staff like mid-day meal cooks and watchmen play an essential role in the functioning of rural schools and often serve as community influencers. This salary hike may help the ruling government win favour among these sections and their families, thereby boosting its chances in the upcoming polls.
While critics may term it a populist move, educators and workers welcomed the announcement, calling it a long-overdue recognition of their role in the state’s schooling system.
Ground-Level Reaction and Next Steps
Many contractual workers expressed relief and satisfaction over the announcement. Rekha Devi, a mid-day meal cook in Muzaffarpur, said, “We work hard every day to ensure children get hot meals, and this increase will finally help us manage our households better.”
Education department officials confirmed that the revised honorarium will come into effect before the elections. A formal notification is expected shortly, which will also outline the disbursement schedule and updated guidelines for salary release.
Furthermore, Nitish Kumar has indicated that this could be a part of a broader education-sector reform initiative in the coming months, likely to include infrastructure upgrades and teacher training. In the wake of the coming election CM Nitish Kumar should showcase more of the achievement and development work to the public to regain lost memories from the minds of the public.