Bihar: Nitish Kumar government doubles honorariums of cooks, watchmen, health instructors at schools as polls approach

Patna: The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar on Friday doubled the honorarium for cooks, night watchmen, and physical education and health instructors working in government schools.

The announcement was made with months left for the assembly elections in the state.

"Cooks, night watchmen, and physical education and health instructors have played an important role in strengthening the education system in the state. Keeping this in mind, we have decided to double their honorarium, making a respectable increase in their remuneration," CM Kumar said in a post on X.

Cooks working under the mid-day meal program will now get Rs 3,300 per month, instead of Rs 1,650. The honorarium of night watchmen has been doubled to Rs 10,000 per month, he said.

The honorarium of physical education and health instructors has been doubled to Rs 16,000 per month, he said, adding that their annual salary increment has been increased from Rs 200 to Rs 400.

"This will boost the morale of the working staff, and they will perform their duties with greater enthusiasm and dedication," the CM noted.

Kumar said that since the formation of his government in 2005, he has been continuously working to improve the education system.

"In the year 2005, the total education budget was Rs 4,366 crore, which has now increased to Rs 77,690 crore. Significant improvements have been made in the education system through the appointment of a large number of teachers, the construction of new school buildings, and the development of basic infrastructure," he said.