A Calcutta High Court Judge on Monday, January 15, abstained from hearing a petition for the permanent inclusion of Class V in the primary education system in West Bengal.

The case was being heard by Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay who said that he could not participate in the hearing of the case and said that the case is of public interest and hence, a petition which is in the form of a public interest litigation (PIL) should be filed in the matter at the division bench of Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, reported IANS.

What was the petition about?
The petitioner stated in the petition that the National for Teacher Education (NCTE) issued a guideline in 2009 for the inclusion of Class V standard as part of primary education, but several schools in the state consider Class V a part of the higher grade, which is upper primary.

The petition argued for the permanent inclusion of Class V in the secondary level, considering Classes VI, VII, and VIII as a part of upper-primary grades.

Justice Gangopadhyay also observed that the state's education policy is involved in the matter, and any petition concerning such matters should be registered in the form of a PIL to be filed at the division bench of the Chief Justice.