The Persatuan Madrasah Tahfiz Al-Quran Malaysia (Permata Al-Quran) has appealed to the government to set up a Tahfiz Teacher Training Institute to produce qualified teachers and create standardised teaching methods for tahfiz schools. Permata Al-Quran president Manolito Mohd Dahlan said the institution could also become an international hub for tahfiz education. "In July, I made a presentation to the Education Coordination Committee and the National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) in Sarawak, where I highlighted the need for trained teachers to produce professional huffaz (Quran memorisers)," he told reporters after the 9th Nusantara Huffaz Convocation ceremony at Millennium Hall today. Penang Deputy Chief Minister I, Datuk Mohamad Abdul Hamid, officiated the opening and presented certificates to 872 Maahad Tahfiz students. Manolito hopes that tahfiz teachers will receive adequate training rather than just teaching based on their experience, calling for more standardised training to produce qu ality teachers. Meanwhile, Permata Al-Quran vice-president Mohamad Hafiz Mohamad Hanifah said that the teachers at tahfiz schools are often untrained and lack competence due to not receiving formal teacher education like those in mainstream schools. "We have raised the matter with the Ministry of Education regarding the establishment of the Malaysian Tahfiz Teacher Training Institute, and we hope it can be realised because the government's target is to produce 125,000 professional huffaz by 2030, so the institute needs to be established first," he added. Source: BERNAMA News Agency