The university, based in Jiangsu Province, an economic powerhouse in east China, sees a drastic increase in the number of students, from around 4,000 to 40,000 in just a few years.

It is reported that short-term loans account for more than 60 percent of the debt of the universities.

Under the mounting pressure of financial burden, many universities are unable to focus on teaching and research, which poses a threat to their future development and even to the quality of the country's higher education as a whole, said deputies at the ongoing NPC annual session.

Hu Sishe was worried some colleges and universities, especially the understaffed ones in remote areas, might go bankrupt as what had happened to some debt-ridden state-owned enterprises.

"The government must take the issue seriously and work out measures to solve the problem as early as possible," said the university president.

NPC deputy Zhou Hongxing, also a professor in Shandong University, even called on the government to pay most of the bills of indebted universities.

"Colleges and universities in China have made great contribution to the overall improvement of education in the country, and they deserve the financial support from government," said the professor.

Some local governments have taken actions to deal with the crisis.

In Jiangsu, the provincial government recently made a decision to allocate 3-4 billion yuan to fund the indebted universities in the province.

To most NPC deputies, it is really a pressing job to help universities overcome the financial crisis no matter who is going to pay the bill for them.

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