Manila: In a bid to compel young Filipinos to toe the line on correct language and communicate effectively, the education department has ordered teachers to force students to use proper grammar when writing or keying in their messages.
Education Secretary Mona Valisno said the use of mobile phone text messages in daily communication, to a certain extent had been detrimental to Filipinos because text message users were forced to sacrifice message clarity for the sake of keeping up with pop culture.
Owing to the limited lines of text mobiles are capable of handling, some Filipino text message users tend to shorten their messages.
While limiting the amount of text is understandable for short messaging services, such a practice was being used more widely in non-formal avenues such as on social networking sites as Facebook, Multiply and Friendster, among others.
"I understand that shortcut texting helps save on cost of SMS," Valisno said.
"Short messaging service is intended for delivering concise messages and not full conversation.
"This means you can properly compose a 160- character message in full spelling to get your message across."
Another major issue that the education department was trying to address is the increasing number of young Filipinos who tended to veer away from conventional English and Filipino grammar and use typefaces that ordinary people found difficult to read, let alone understand.
But Valisno said Filipinos should stop the practice if they want to remain competitive.
