Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Ernawati recalls her outrage when her daughter, a second-grader at a private school in Bekasi, West Java, came home in tears one day.

"I was shocked to learn the teacher 'hit' my daughter with a ruler in front of the whole class, just because she made a mistake in maths," she told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

She said her seven-year-old daughter, Lestari, ranked in the top 10 in her class, grew fearful of attending math classes at the school.

"I reported the case to the school's headmaster because this was the third time the teacher had punished a student for making a mistake in class. But none of the other parents were aware of it," Ernawati said.

"This is killing the spirit of my daughter. I believe it is violence against children."

Lestari is among millions of students across the country who suffer some form of violence at school. The government-sanctioned Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) said violence against children was on the rise in schools.

KPAI chairwoman Masnah Sari said the incidents ranged from punishing students for not doing their homework, to sexual abuse. "We found several primary school students in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta, were kicked out of class and ordered to stand outside in the sun because they did not do their homework," she said.

On Friday, the KPAI reported the incidents to Vice President Jusuf Kalla. The commission said it received 555 complaints in 2007 about cases of violence committed by teachers during school hours, with that number constantly rising.

"Surprisingly, in 11.8 percent of the cases, the abuse was committed by teachers in school, and in 18 percent of cases, by people in their immediate social circles," Masnah said.

"As of July this year, cases of violence against students have increased by 39 percent. What's worse is most of the school cases involve sexual abuse by the teachers."

She said most victims of violence in school were female students. "This means female students are more vulnerable to sexual harassment," Masnah said.

She said that in West Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, 13 students were forced to leave their school because they refused to salute the national flag.

"The students refused to do so because of their religious beliefs. They weren't wrong. It was the teachers who violated the 2002 law on child protection," Masnah said after meeting with Kalla. She added the KPAI would discuss the issue with the National Education Ministry.

During the meeting, Kalla ordered the commission to bring to justice all teachers or parents involved in violence against children.

"I asked the KPAI to take stern measures to prevent sexual abuse or child exploitation. They can report these cases to the police," Kalla said at a press conference after Friday prayers.

The government established the KPAI in 2004 to help draw up child protection policies, with KPAI members selected by the House of Representatives.