The sub-panel of Turkish parliament’s education commission discussed proposals submitted by civic groups and trade unions on the much-criticized education reform bill.

The most controversial proposal came from the Association of Imam-Hatip Graduates, which said boys and girls should be segregated.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ defended the bill as a move to boost vocational schools and provide a well-trained work force for the industry. “While students in vocational schools make up 65-70 percent in other countries, in Turkey it’s just the opposite. This shows that something is wrong,” Bozdağ said on Kanal 24 television.

He explained the reform would enable parents to send children to vocational schools after a four-year basic education, but would allow them to change their choices afterwards. Bozdağ defended a planned provision to allow students to opt out of school in favor of home study after eight years as “suitable to Turkey’s realities.”

The draft bill has come under fire on grounds that it would allow conservative parents to take girls from school and encourage child labor, Hurriyet Daily News reported.