Turkish parliament has passed a bill to shut down thousands of private schools, most of them run by the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

On Friday, some 226 lawmakers, in the 550-seat house, voted in favor and 22 against the bill that said the network of schools must be closed by September 1, 2015.

The move is considered as the latest response on the part of Prime Minister Recep Tayytip Erdogan to the corruption scandal that has shaken his administration.

Erdogan has blamed his rival Gulen for prompting the graft investigation, accusing him of seeking to create “a parallel state” in Turkey.

Some 4,000 private schools in the country are run by Gulen, that are considered as a major source of income for his Hizmet (Service) movement.

Gulen is an influential figure in Turkey and reportedly has many followers in some arms of the country’s state apparatus such as the judiciary, the police and secret services.

The government floated the idea of closing the schools in November, when Erdogan said that he wanted to abolish an unfair and “illegal” system of education that turned children into “competition horses.”

Turkey’s crisis erupted on December 17, after dozens of government officials and prominent businessmen close to Erdogan were arrested on graft charges.

On December 25, 2013, Erdogan announced a major cabinet reshuffle replacing 10 ministers including the economy, interior, and environment ministers, who had resigned from their posts after their sons were arrested in the scandal.

On Friday, a Turkish court released the last five suspects, including the sons of two former ministers.

Erdogan welcomed the release, saying that it was “what I expected. Justice has been served.”