Nairobi — Learning was on Friday paralysed in most schools in Marakwet after teachers took to the streets to protest over the degazettement of the region as a hardship area.

At least five divisions of Marakwet West and East districts were affected by the protests. At Kapsowar primary school, pupils read on their own as did those at Cheles, Sinon, Kaptek, Kapchesewes and Kipsaiya primary schools.

The situation was the same in other schools in the far-flung Kapcherop and Kapyego divisions. In advertisements aired on two local radio stations, the Kenya National Union of Teachers and the Union of Kenya Civil Servants Marakwet West branch called teachers and civil servants to down their tools and converge at Kapsowar town for the protests.

At Moi Kapsowar Girls Secondary school, Kapsowar Boys, Chebiemit and Yemit High School, most teachers boycotted classes in the afternoon to join protests in Kapsowar town, the district headquarters.

The protesters marched from the district Treasury building to Kapsowar Boys grounds where they were addressed by union officials, local MP Boaz Kaino and Marakwet County Council chairman William Chesing'any.

The protest was sparked by the decision of Public Service minister Dalmas Otieno to degazette Tirap, Kapcherop, Chebiemit and Kapyego divisions as hardship zones.

District Education officer Christopher Chebiegon said learning was disrupted throughout the day in the five divisions. The workers asked Mr Otieno to reverse the degazettement claiming the areas were extremely harsh and insecure.

"The move by the minister to degazette the divisions was totally unacceptable and we are blaming whoever did research and recommended to the minister to abolish the divisions from the list of hardship areas" said Marakwet Knut branch Executive Secretary Julius Chemweno. He said more than 20 teachers had recently lost their lives in bandit attacks, the latest of which was two weeks ago.