The government says funds covering January to August 2026 have been released to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for payment to academic staff.
The Federal Government has announced the release of the full Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) covering eight months for academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Minister of Education Tunji Alausa announced the development on Wednesday after inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation, saying the payment covers the period from January to August 2026.
CATA is an allowance designed to support academic staff with expenses linked to teaching, research and professional development. It covers areas including academic publications, conferences, internet access, learned society memberships and books.
Alausa said the latest release was made in line with the provisions of the 2025 Federal Government-Academic Staff Union of Universities (FGN-ASUU) 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,” he said.
He added that the affected institutions had been notified to begin paying the allowance to academic staff.
“All these institutions should have received notification to start paying CATA to all academic staff,” Alausa said.
Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance payment follows five-month arrears release
The latest announcement follows an earlier release in June when the Federal Government provided funds for five months of accumulated CATA owed to eligible academic staff in federal universities.
A circular dated June 4 and signed by Alausa directed vice-chancellors to clear the outstanding payments in line with the 2025 agreement with ASUU. The National Universities Commission subsequently confirmed the release.
At the time, however, ASUU raised concerns about the use of the term “eligible” in the government’s directive, warning that ambiguity over who qualified for payment could create fresh disputes on campuses.
ASUU president Chris Piwuna called for clarification, saying the union had signed the agreement on behalf of its dues-paying members and that differing interpretations by institutions could cause further tension.
The latest announcement expands the payment beyond the federal university system to academic staff in federal polytechnics and colleges of education.
Non-academic staff payment still pending
Alausa said the government was also working towards paying the corresponding entitlements of non-academic staff in tertiary institutions.
“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.
The minister linked the latest CATA release to the administration’s broader focus on staff welfare and reforms in the education sector.
He said the government was also investing in infrastructure across tertiary institutions, as well as basic and postgraduate education, while working towards improving the quality of education available to Nigerian students.
The latest payment comes amid continuing disputes over the implementation of the 2025 agreements between the Federal Government and education-sector unions.
While the federal government has now announced the release of CATA covering January to August for academic staff in the affected federal institutions, payments at individual institutions may still depend on the disbursement and processing of the funds by the respective institutions.
