The Federal Government has released the full Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) for academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, covering January to August 2026.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed the development on Wednesday while inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation.
According to the minister, institutions have been notified to commence payment of the allowance to eligible academic staff. The release is part of the Federal Government’s implementation of the 2025 agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Alausa said, “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.”
He added that payment to non-academic staff was also being processed and could be made available in the coming weeks.
CATA is designed to assist academic staff with expenses connected to teaching, research and professional activities. It covers areas including academic publications, conference participation, internet access, membership of learned societies and books.
The payment is significant for Nigeria’s tertiary education sector because lecturers require adequate academic resources to conduct research, publish scholarly work and maintain effective teaching standards. It also represents a further step in implementing the welfare provisions contained in the government’s agreements with academic unions.
Earlier in June, the Federal Government released funds for five months of accumulated CATA owed to eligible lecturers in federal universities and directed vice-chancellors to clear outstanding payments.
The latest release therefore extends the government’s implementation of the revised remuneration framework for academic staff and could help improve staff morale and industrial relations across federal tertiary institutions.
