An Argentine court confirmed the 12-year prison sentence meted out to a high school teacher who offered better grades to his students in exchange for sex, local media reported Tuesday.

The appellate court upheld the sentence handed down to Julio Fernandez, 48, for aggravated corruption of minors at a school in Santa Fe province, La Capital newspaper said on its Web site.

Also participating in the abuse, which occurred in a state-owned house on school grounds, was another teacher who was also an official of the Education Ministry.