By Ado Oyeyemi
The Federal Government has released funds for the payment of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance to academic staff of federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for the period covering January to August 2026.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday while speaking after the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation.
The allowance, commonly referred to as CATA, is designed to assist academic staff with the purchase of materials and equipment required for teaching, research and other academic responsibilities.
Alausa said the payment was in line with the agreement reached between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities in 2025.
According to him, academic staff in the affected institutions should have received notifications directing the institutions to commence payment of the allowance.
The minister said, “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.”
Alausa also disclosed that arrangements were underway for the payment of the corresponding allowance to non-academic staff, expressing optimism that the funds would be released within the next few weeks.
He described the development as part of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to improve the welfare of workers in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
The minister said the administration’s education agenda was not limited to staff welfare, adding that investments were also being channelled into infrastructure development in tertiary institutions, as well as basic and postgraduate education.
Alausa said the Federal Government was committed to providing Nigerian children with education capable of competing favourably with global standards.
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He described Tinubu’s education policies as transformative and said the administration had continued to prioritise the sector.
