The Federal Government has announced the full payment of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) to academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for the period 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 support academic staff in purchasing essential tools and materials needed for teaching, research and other academic activities.
Alausa said the payment was 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.
“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 added that the payment of allowances to non-academic staff was also being processed.
“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.
According to Alausa, the payment further demonstrated President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to improving the welfare of academic and non-academic staff in the country’s tertiary institutions.
He said the administration had prioritised staff welfare as part of broader efforts to improve the quality of education in Nigeria.
Beyond staff welfare, Alausa said the Federal Government was investing significantly in infrastructure across tertiary institutions, as well as in basic and postgraduate education.
“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,” he said.
The minister said the administration was committed to ensuring that Nigerian children have access to quality education capable of competing with global standards.
“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,” Alausa said.
He commended President Tinubu for what he described as a transformative approach to reforming Nigeria’s education sector.
