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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 has been released, Minister of Education Tunji Alausa announced on Wednesday.
Alausa disclosed this shortly after inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation.
CATA is a financial allowance provided to academic staff to support the purchase of essential tools and materials required for teaching, research and other academic activities.
The minister said the payment was in accordance with the provisions of the 2025 agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to its implementation.
“The Office of the Minister of Education is happy to announce that the full CATA payment has now been released from January to August 2026 to all universities, all polytechnics and colleges of education,” Alausa said.
“All these institutions should have received notification to start paying CATA to all academic staff,” he added.
Alausa said payment 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 was another indication of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to improving the welfare of academic and non-academic staff in the nation’s tertiary institutions.
“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.
The minister said the administration’s education reforms extended beyond staff welfare.
He noted that significant investments were also being made in infrastructure across tertiary institutions, also in basic and postgraduate education.
