Members of the Jharkhand Coaching Association, an umbrella organisation of private tutorials, have demanded that they be allowed to reopen given that the state government has allowed schools to start functioning as per newly introduced SOPs.

Reacting to Thursday’s announcement of SOPs for schools for classes 10 and 12, coaching institutes, that cater to those appearing for various competitive examinations, have now threatened to hit the streets from next week if their demands are not met.

The association said that the continued “lockdown” of coaching institutes was adversely affecting the livelihoods of lakhs of professionals associated with them.

JCA said that they would not hesitate to launch a state and district-level agitation if their pleas are ignored. But according to a statement issued after a meeting on Thursday evening, JCA would wait to hear from the government till Sunday.

S.D. Mishra, joint secretary of JCA, said, “It is beyond our understanding why coaching centres are facing a lockdown when schools and higher education centres are being allowed to function in a staggered manner. Allow us to also function with similar conditions. We will abide by every protocol set by the government to curb the spread of the virus.”

Mishra said over a lakh people, comprising teachers and support staff, are directly and indirectly dependent on coaching centres to run their families. In Ranchi alone, there are around 15,000 coaching centres employing over 40,000 people.

“Since the past nine months, they are without jobs and are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Many coaching centres have been forced to shut down permanently owing to high recurring monthly expenses,” said Mishra, adding that they had appealed to senior functionaries of the state government in the past, but nothing has come of these meetings.

“We request the state government to be sympathetic to our woes and clear its stand by Sunday. Otherwise, we will be forced to protest in whichever way we can,” he said.

As per SOPs issued by the state government, all schools outside containment zones have been permitted to resume regular classes for students of class 10 and 12 with the consent of parents with effect from December 21.

In addition to schools, the state government has also allowed shooting of films without the presence of spectators, subject to compliance of SOPs to be notified by the information and public relations department.