Does Remote Learning Affect Children’s Academic Achievement?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yakti

Question

What is your opinion on remote learning? Does it affect the academic and educational attainment of children?

Answer

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Blessings and peace be upon the Master of the Messengers, his Family, and all his Companions.

Islam encourages the pursuit of knowledge through all available traditional and technological means. However, the foundation of successful and fruitful education—especially for children—should be in-person. Remote learning should only be resorted to out of necessity or when it serves a particular interest in a specific situation or circumstance.

In our current time, I find it appropriate to combine both methods, with the condition that in-person attendance remains the core of the educational process whenever possible and remote learning acts as a supplementary and supportive tool. This approach helps spread knowledge widely, utilize modern means, and engage children in beneficial and constructive activities. And Allah knows best.

Detailed Answer

Islam has encouraged the pursuit of knowledge by all means available. Thanks to Allah (Most High), we now have various tools and methods, including modern educational tools, whether real or virtual. All these methods are encouraged by Islamic law, as indicated in the hadith of Abu Darda (Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“Whoever treads a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise…” [Abu Dawud; Tirmidhi and Others]

The Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) use of the word “path” in the indefinite form indicates generality, meaning any path that leads to knowledge without specifying a particular method.

This is one of the miracles of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), as it includes all methods and means, whether traditional in his time or in future times, including modern technological means as they become relevant.

However, in-person learning should be the foundation of successful and fruitful education—especially for children. Remote learning should only be used as a last resort or when circumstances necessitate it or to achieve a specific benefit in a particular situation, such as illness, distance that makes gathering difficult, such as differences in countries or long distances within the same country, or the absence of alternatives.

Decline in Academic Achievement

This has been evidenced by real-life experiences and acknowledged by parents and those responsible for the educational process when the world experienced the spread of COVID-19.

Studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic have demonstrated a decline in academic achievement among students due to the widespread reliance on remote learning.

(Among these studies are “The Impact of Remote Learning on Academic Achievement,” a master’s thesis presented at the University of Guelma, under the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Algeria, and the study “Traditional Education and Remote Learning: Challenges and Future Prospects” by Dr. ‘Isa Ibn Khalaf)

Integrating Both Methods

In our time, I find it beneficial to integrate both methods, especially given the development of modern interactive educational tools, which have become almost impossible to abandon.

This combination helps spread knowledge on a broad scale, makes use of modern means, and occupies children’s time with beneficial activities instead of wasting it on other things, especially given their strong attachment to these devices and technological tools.

However, in-person attendance must remain the core of the educational process whenever possible, with remote learning serving as a supplementary and supportive tool, according to the type of knowledge and specific needs of each situation. And Allah knows best.

Conclusion

It is essential first to ensure that children enroll in available and accessible schools and educational institutions as much as possible. After that, there is no harm in enrolling in trustworthy virtual educational platforms to support and enhance the educational process, as explained above.

And Allah grants success.

[Shaykh] Abdul Sami‘ al-Yakti

Shaykh Abdul Sami‘ al-Yaqti is a Syrian scholar born in Aleppo in 1977. He obtained his degree in Shari‘a from the Shari‘a Faculty of Damascus University, a Diploma in Educational Qualification from the Faculty of Education at Aleppo University, and a Diploma in Shari‘a and a Master’s in Shari‘a from the Faculty of Shari‘a and Law at Omdurman University in Sudan. He is currently writing his doctoral thesis.

He studied under esteemed scholars such as Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri, Shaykh Mustafa al-Turkmani, and Shaykh Dr. Nur al-Din Itr, among others. Shaykh al-Yakti has worked in teaching and cultural guidance in orphanages and high schools in Aleppo. He served as an Imam, Khatib, and reciter at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and as a certified trainer for Khatibs in Abu Dhabi’s Khatib Qualification Program.

He is involved in developing and teaching a youth education program at Seekers Arabic for Islamic Sciences.

Among Shaykh al-Yaqti’s significant works are “Imam al-Haramayn al-Juwayni: Bayna Ilm al-Kalam Wa Usul al-Fiqh” and the program “The Messenger of Allah Among Us (Allah bless him and give him peace).”