About 12 girls, all second graders at the Puman Central Primary School, told police that their math teacher, Zeng Xingming, sexually assaulted them.
"So far, Zeng has confessed to molesting five girls," an official told state-run Xinhua news agency today.
The headmaster of the school has been suspended after the incident.
The case came to light after the father of one of the students called head teacher on May 21, accusing Zeng of committing indecent acts against his daughter.
Local education authorities have launched ethics training courses for all teachers.