Chief minister Nitish Kumar announced sops for girl students and contract teachers during the Independence Day function but failed to meet the hopes and demands of the instructors.

While delivering the Independence Day speech at Gandhi Maidan on Thursday, Nitish said girl students of classes I to X would get scholarships and salaries of contract teachers under panchayats and urban local bodies would be hiked by Rs 3,000 per month from September this year.

Around 2.5 lakh teachers would benefit from the hike.

The instructors, however, are not happy with the announcement. Bihar Panchayat Nagar Prambhik Shikshak Sangh president Puran Kumar said: “The hike of Rs 3,000 is very little.”

He claimed that at a meeting of the education department officials and representatives of the teachers in December last year, they were assured that the instructors would get salary of not less than Rs 15,000.

“The government has tried to cheat the teachers. We would launch a fresh agitation,” added Puran.

The teachers are arguably the largest organised protesters against the government. In September last year, they had protested aggressively at Nitish’s public meetings in Khagaria and Begusarai.