Tahfiz al-Quran education for visually impaired students (OKU Penglihatan) is vital in shaping their spiritual and

psychological development. Preliminary studies show that this program has a very positive impact on the

students' self-confidence and future aspirations. However, the effectiveness of this program is hampered by a

critical gap in teacher competency, where the majority of teachers have not received specific training to teach the

visually impaired. Therefore, this study aims to assess the existing level of professional competency among

Tahfiz teachers and identify their specific training needs, focusing on the mastery of Braille al-Quran and assistive

technology. This study applies a mixed methodology (quantitative and qualitative). The quantitative phase

involves a survey of OKU Tahfiz teachers, while the qualitative phase uses needs analysis and in-depth

Tahfiz al-Quran education for the Visually Impaired (OKU Penglihatan) has long been a focus in academic

discourse and national education policy. Islamic history itself records prominent blind scholars, such as Imam al-

Syatibi (Rabiṭah Ulama Iritriya, 2020), which proves the great potential of this group in al-Quran studies. The

current reality shows that inclusive efforts towards OKU Tahfiz education are increasingly being driven by

institutions like the Ibnu Ummi Maktum Research Centre (UMMI) and NGOs such as PERTIS, supported by

national initiatives like the publication of the Malaysian Braille Al-Quran Mushaf by JAKIM, which has

standardized the official text at the national level.

Despite the growth of these support initiatives, inclusive Tahfiz education opportunities still face

significant systemic challenges. One of the most noticeable gaps occurs at the secondary level, where there is no

societal mentality that sometimes limits potential, but the most important and addressable issue is the lack of

trained and competent teachers (R1 & R2, 2025). Existing teachers, while passionate, may not possess the

specialized pedagogical skills to teach the complex Braille al-Quran, manage inclusive classes, or integrate

assistive technology.

Therefore, this paper chooses to focus on this root problem. Based on a detailed analysis of field expert

experiences and views, this article aims to assess the level of Professional Competency of Visually Impaired

OKU Tahfiz teachers and systematically identify their Specific Training needs. The discussion will also touch

upon the role of national inclusive policies such as the Zero Reject Policy and the Action Plan for Muslim OKU

by Religious Agencies 2024–2028 in the context of teacher competency development. The results of this study

are expected to formulate recommendations toward building a more inclusive and sustainable Tahfiz education

assessment, and contribution to the school and the profession. For special education teachers, this competency is

more demanding because it involves the ability to understand the potential, abilities, and identify the

weaknesses of each OKU student. Competency assessment often uses expert-validated questionnaire instruments

to measure knowledge and skills aspects, which demonstrates high reliability.

techniques practiced by OKU students, such as the tikrar (repetition) technique, time selection, and verse focus.

However, the main challenges are often associated with a lack of reference materials in Braille and issues in

part of the teachers to master these skills.

Specific training is seen as the main solution to help teachers overcome challenges in Special Education. In the

OKU Tahfiz context, preliminary studies (original data) emphasize that teachers recognize the importance of

This study will use a Mixed Methods Research Design, specifically the Sequential Exploratory Designmodel.

of teacher professional competency and the level of specific training needs.

gain a deeper understanding of the reasons behind low competency scores (if any) and to obtain detailed

input for developing the proposed training model.

or related special education schools in Malaysia.

Two main instruments will be used:

o Constructs: The questionnaire will be divided into sections: Demographic Background,

Professional Competency Assessment (covering aspects of Tahfiz Curriculum, Pedagogy/Braille

Teaching Methods, Assistive Technology, and Evaluation/Assessment), and Specific Training

Needs (based on a 5-point Likert scale).

o Validity and Reliability: Items must undergo an expert validation process (content validation) by

at least three experts in Special Education and Tahfiz Education.

which will then serve as the basis for proposing the Training Model.

The findings of this study were obtained from the descriptive analysis of the responses of three Visually Impaired

OKU Tahfiz teachers (N=3).

The following table summarizes the Mean (M) and Consensus (K) scores of teachers regarding the main

obstacles:

learning aids (M=3.67) are mixed. This suggests that the problem may lie in the teachers' pedagogical

" (Discussion):

gap.

the program (as shown by high scores in Section C), but they lack the formal pedagogical tools to reach the

in the literature).

The findings of this study provide a strong basis for the development of a training model, which needs to be based

on three main pillars:

This study confirms that there is a critical gap between the visually impaired OKU Tahfiz teachers' awareness of

o Integration of Assistive Technology (e.g., screen readers) in memorization sessions.

o Adaptive Fardhu Ain Tahfiz Teaching Techniques.

trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1–13.

International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 19(6), 349–357.

https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzm042

UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373718

Challenges and elements needed for children with learning disabilities in teaching and learning the Quran.

Children, 9(10), 1469. MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9101469