In email age, Pinoy kids to be taught lost art of letter writing

In this age of email, Philippine authorities are gearing up to teach Filipino elementary and high school students the lost art of writing snail mail.

Threatened with obsolescence, the Philippine Postal Corp. on Wednesday said it is entering into an agreement with the Department of Education and Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino on the matter.

PHLPost said the agreement aims to "institutionalize letter writing as a tool to develop the writing skills of students in elementary and secondary schools nationwide."

For now, PHLPost said it has formulated programs on letter writing and stamp collecting, while instilling the value of gratitude and positivism especially among young Filipinos.

It also said it is working with the DepEd on a module for "Letter Writing and Stamp Collecting" that will be included in the curriculum of the K-12 basic education program.

On the other hand, the DepEd will issue memos and advisories on PHLPost projects such as:

• yearly Universal Postal Union (UPU) Letter Writing Competition
• Nationwide Letter Writing Project
• establishment of student stamp clubs in elementary and secondary schools nationwide.

For its part, KWF will work for a Malacañang declaration of a “National Letter Writing Day” with the theme “Salamat Po” in Filipino. —Joel Locsin/KG/HS, GMA News