Federal tertiary institution lecturers—across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education—will soon receive eight months of backdated Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) covering January through August 2026.
Education Minister Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa announced the release of payments on Wednesday following the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation.
CATA is designed to help academic staff purchase essential tools and materials for teaching, research and other academic activities.
Alausa explained that the payment was in line with the provisions of the 2025 Federal Government–Academic Staff Union of Universities agreement and reaffirmed 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,” PerSecondNews quotes him as saying.
“All these institutions should have received notification to start paying CATA to all academic staff,” he added.
“And also, the payment to non-academic staff, we are hoping that these funds will be made available, hopefully, in the next few weeks.”
Alausa linked the release of the allowance to the government’s broader commitment to improving conditions for workers in the tertiary education sector.
“This is another indication of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to our academic and non-academic staff. 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,” he said.
Beyond staff welfare, Alausa pointed to ongoing government investments in infrastructure across tertiary institutions, as well as interventions 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,” the minister said.
He maintained that the administration was committed to improving the quality of education available to Nigerian children and raising it to internationally comparable 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.”
The minister commended President Tinubu for what he described as a transformative initiative in the education sector.