The Federal Government has announced the full payment of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) to academic staff of federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for the period between January and August 2026.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday after inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation.
Alausa said the payment was in line with the provisions of the 2025 agreement between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), reaffirming the government’s commitment to implementing agreements reached with stakeholders in the education sector.
The Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance is a financial support package provided to academic staff to enable them acquire essential tools, materials and resources required for teaching, research and other academic activities.
According to the minister, all affected federal tertiary institutions have been notified to begin disbursing the allowance to eligible academic staff.
“The Office of the Minister of Education is happy to announce that the full CATA payment has now been released by the Federal Government from January to August 2026 to all universities, all polytechnics and colleges of education,” Alausa said.
“All these institutions should have received notification to start paying CATA to all academic staff.”
The minister also disclosed that the Federal Government was making arrangements to release funds for similar payments to non-academic staff in tertiary institutions.
He expressed optimism that the funds would be made available within the next few weeks.“And also, the payment to non-academic staff, we’re hoping that these funds will be made available, hopefully, in the next few weeks,” he said.
Alausa described the payment of the allowance as another demonstration of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to improving the welfare of workers in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
According to him, the Tinubu administration has continued to prioritise the welfare of both academic and non-academic staff while also investing heavily in educational infrastructure.
“This is another indication of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to our academic and non-academic staff,” the minister said.
“President Bola Tinubu made a commitment to ensuring that the quality and welfare of our staff are prioritised. He has prioritised the welfare of our staff.”
The education minister added that the Federal Government’s ongoing reforms in the sector extended beyond staff welfare to infrastructure development and investments in basic, tertiary and postgraduate education.
He said the administration was working towards ensuring that Nigerian students have access to quality education that meets global standards.
“Beyond prioritising the welfare of our staff, he has also significantly invested in infrastructure at all our tertiary institutions and also basic and postgraduate education,” Alausa said.The minister maintained that President Tinubu’s administration remained committed to transforming Nigeria’s education sector and ensuring that every child in the country has access to quality education.“This is a President that believes so much in education. He has delivered beyond his promises to ensure that every single child in this country gets the highest quality of education comparable to anywhere in the world,” he added.
