SHANGHAI (AFP) - A Chinese court has sentenced a kindergarten teacher to life in jail for sexually abusing 12 of his pupils, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

A court in the northern region of Ningxia sentenced Huang Zhenxin, a teacher at a rural school, for "raping or molesting" his female pupils, the report said.

Police said he offered to tutor them on their homework before assaulting them.

In May, China executed a former primary school teacher for raping and sexually abusing 26 children at his school, state media previously reported.

Li Jishun was convicted of having raped or sexually abused 26 girls aged between four and 11 at a school in the north-western province of Gansu.

China's Supreme Court says sexual abuse cases involving children have risen in recent years, with 7,145 nationwide from 2012-2014.