LUCKNOW, July 23 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Tuesday began hearing two special appeal petitions challenging the merger of primary schools. The division bench, headed by Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Jaspreet Singh, heard arguments from the petitioners' lawyers. The hearing will continue on Wednesday. The two petitions have been filed in high court challenging the July 7 order of the single bench which had dismissed the petitions challenging merger of primary schools. Two special appeals have been filed-one by 5 children and the other by 17 children from Sitapur district through their parents. Senior advocate LP Mishra and advocate Gaurav Mehrotra are representing petitioners in court. They have completed their arguments in court. Mishra argued that the state government's order to merge schools violates the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, for children aged 6-14. He also raised concerns that the merger would create problems for young children as they would have to travel long distances to attend school. Now, the state government's lawyers are presenting their counter-arguments. Both sides are supporting their claims with precedents. On the other hand, the state government, represented by additional advocate general (AAG) Anuj Kudesia and chief standing counsel Shailendra Kumar Singh, argued that the merger was in the best interest of children, aiming to optimise resource utilisation. The government cited 18 primary schools with zero students and stated that merging such schools with nearby ones would ensure better use of teachers and facilities, ultimately improving education quality....