Lucknow, July 4 -- The counsel for petitioners argued before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court that the Uttar Pradesh government's order for the merger of primary schools violates Article 21A of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to free and compulsory education for children between the ages of 6 and 14 years and a school within one km for a village having a population of 300.

On the other hand, the state government justified its decision, asserting that the step is in the larger interest of students and for better utilisation of its resources.

The hearing will continue on Friday in the court of Justice Pankaj Bhatia.

Fifty-one students from Sitapur - 50 from a primary school and one from the upper primary section...