Senior High Schools in the Upper East region may soon be closed down if administrators do not receive food supplies within the next few days. There has been an acute shortage of food supplies to the schools after months of indebtedness to suppliers. Joy News’ Upper East correspondent Albert Soree reports the situation is precarious. Speaking to officials of the Bolgatanga SHS, where the school is on a midterm break, Soree said only the final year students might be asked to return because there is not enough food to feed all students. The Upper East President of CHASS, Patrick Pangoyiri also confirmed the acute food shortage in the schools. According to him, CHASS has paid an amount representing only 35 per cent of the cost of food supplies for the first term. With 65 per cent debt left to pay, Pangoyiri noted the schools are nearing the end of the second term and nothing has been paid to the suppliers. He said the suppliers are wallowing in debt and are unable to continue supplying the food stuff. He said the schools can only hold on for at least a week- whilst counting on the goodwill of some suppliers- but feared the schools may soon shut down if the GES does not pay for the supplies. The Deputy Director General of the GES, Stephen Adu attributed the delays in payment of the suppliers to the decision by a “higher authority” to change the accounts for the payment. According to him, the Finance Ministry no longer holds the account for the payment of food supplies, adding, that account has been shifted to the GETfund. He said his outfit has sent the necessary enrolment and documentation to the GETfund hoping they will be given the monies on time for onward payment to suppliers. Meanwhil, the Upper East Region Minister Mark Wayongo told Joy News there is the need to decentralize the disbursement of such funds. He said monies must be sent to the regional bursaries for proper administration at the regional level. He said he had consulted the District Chief Executives in the region to loan out monies for the payment to the suppliers but said, the amount brought by the schools was too exorbitant, they could not afford. Parents are said to be suffocating under the news of food shortage in the schools. One of the parents told Albert Soree it becomes a burden on the parents to feed their children who are back at home over food shortage when they have already paid school fees.