The Federal Government has released 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.
Minister of Education, Dr Maruf 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 required 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 (FGN/ASUU) 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 also disclosed that payment of the allowance to non-academic staff was being processed and 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,” Alausa said.
He described the payment as another demonstration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to improving the welfare of academic and non-academic staff in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
According to him, the President had prioritised staff welfare as part of efforts to improve the quality of education in the country.
“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.
Alausa said the administration’s education reforms went beyond staff welfare, noting that significant investments were also being made 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,” the minister added.
He said the Federal Government remained committed to ensuring that Nigerian children receive 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.
The minister commended President Tinubu for what he described as a transformative approach to the development of Nigeria’s education sector.
