The Federal Government has announced the release of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) for academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education covering January to August 2026.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday shortly after inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation.
CATA is a financial allowance designed to help academic staff purchase essential tools and materials needed for teaching, research and other academic activities.
Alausa said the payment was made in line with the provisions of the 2025 Federal Government–Academic Staff Union of Universities agreement, reaffirming the government’s commitment to implementing the agreement.
He said the funds had been released to all federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education and that the institutions had been notified to commence payment 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.
“All these institutions should have received notification to start paying CATA to all academic staff,” he said.
The minister also disclosed that payment of the corresponding allowance to non-academic staff was being processed and could be released within the next few weeks.
According to Alausa, the payment demonstrates President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to improving the welfare of academic and non-academic staff across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
He said the administration’s education reforms went beyond staff welfare, with significant investments being made in infrastructure across tertiary institutions, as well as in basic and postgraduate education.
Alausa added that the government was committed to providing Nigerian children with quality education capable of competing with global standards.
He described Tinubu’s education policies as transformative and commended the President for prioritising the sector.
The minister’s announcement is expected to provide financial relief to thousands of academic staff across federal tertiary institutions, particularly those who have been awaiting payment under the government’s agreement with university lecturers.
