A district education board in Sumatra, Indonesia, has been condemned for a plan which will see girls undergo a virginity test before they are allowed to attend high school.



H.M. Rasyid, the head of the education board in the south Sumatran district of Prabumulih, says the test is needed because of increasing instances of premarital sex and prostitution among female students.



"Every woman has the right to virginity, though on the other hand, we expect students to not commit negative acts," Rasyid said, according to the Jakarta Globe newspaper.



The test, which involves the forced examination of a girl's hymen to determine whether she has engaged in sexual intercourse, has been slammed as harmful and invasive, but Rasyid said the plan had already been budgeted for and would be implemented in 2014.



The policy has been heavily criticised by rights groups as well as senior politicians, including Indonesian Education Minister Mohammad Nuh, who appeared to be embarrassed the plan had even been aired.



Despite outrage over the plan, the Indonesian Education Ministry has said it cannot force the school board to abandon the move, and can only offer advice.



"It's a technical policy which is determined by the head of the local education agency," Ibnu Hamad, a spokesman of the Education Ministry, told the newspaper.



"We can advise that whatever policy they implement, it should not hamper a student's access to education."



Indonesian rights group the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) also slammed the plan, with the organisation's deputy chairwoman, Masruchah, saying a student's body was not the dominion of public officials.



"Virginity is a personal issue, and a person has a right over their own body," she said.



"Morality cannot be determined by (a student's) genitals," she said.



"What will they do with the test results? Are they going to reveal which students are not virgins?"