This is due to the decline in the license fees collected from poker and pachinko machines on island, he added.
He said the board can reinstate the program once the funding sources become stable.
SHEFA, however, has yet to decide which of its programs will be suspended.
SHEFA provides financial assistance to qualified students through grant-in-aid, scholarships and student loans.
According to Mafnas, SHEFA can also receive donations from individuals, associations or corporations.
But he would rather see businesses and individuals sponsoring their own scholarship programs.
He cited the example of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and other civic organizations for initiating their own scholarship programs.
He noted that when SHEFA was established in 2004, there were 1,400 units of poker machines.
The Department of Finance projected only 579 units from Oct. 2010 to Sept. 2011, he added.
Mafnas said if only 50 percent of these 579 units are renewed, the SHEFA program will be severely affected.
Last month, he said, only three of 11 poker machines were renewed.
