All of the dead were third grade students, a teacher told Zonglan news, a state-backed media outlet from Hebei province. One person rescued from the scene was being treated in the hospital, CCTV, China's state broadcaster said.
The fire started Friday night and was put out just before midnight at Yingcai School in rural Fangcheng district in central Henan, and the school's owner was detained, CCTV reported.
Local authorities said they were investigating the cause of the fire.
The boarding school caters primarily to students in the elementary grades, though it has an attached kindergarten, according to the school's WeChat page. Many of the boarding students come from rural areas, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
The facility is in Dushu township and is one of the school's two branches.
Yingcai is a private boarding school with a kindergarten and an elementary school, said The Paper, a Shanghai government-backed news outlet.
The school gives students a break every two weeks but this was not a break weekend, The Paper said, citing several local residents.
Many of Yingcai's students are from rural areas, it said, adding that the fire broke around 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) on Friday.One person rescued from the scene was being treated in the hospital, CCTV, China's state broadcaster said.
Rescuers arrived at the scene quickly and the flames were extinguished at 11:38 pm
The manager of the school, near Nanyang City, has been detained and an investigation is under way, BBC reported.
No further details about the identities of the dead or the cause of the fire were released via official channels. It was extinguished less than an hour after firefighters were alerted, Xinhua reported.
The boarding school caters primarily to students in the elementary grades, though it has an attached kindergarten.
Fatal fires in China are not uncommon due to lax enforcement of building and safety standards.
In November, 26 people died after a large fire ripped through an office building in Luliang City, Shanxi province.
A hospital fire in Beijing last April claimed the lives of at least 29 people - mostly patients - and triggered an investigation which saw 12 people detained by police for questioning.
The boarding school caters primarily to students in the elementary grades, though it has an attached kindergarten.
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