By Jelili Gbadamosi
The Federal Government has released funds for the payment of eight months of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) to academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The allowance covers the period from January to August 2026 and is expected to support lecturers in procuring materials and tools needed for teaching, research and other academic responsibilities.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced the development on Wednesday shortly after inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation.
Alausa said the payment was part of the Federal Government’s implementation of its 2025 agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
“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,” the minister said.
He added that the affected institutions had been notified to commence payment to their academic staff.
According to him, the government is also processing the corresponding payment for non-academic staff.
“All these institutions should have received notification to start paying CATA to all academic staff. 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 reaffirmed the government’s commitment to implementing the provisions of the agreement reached with academic workers.
CATA is designed to provide financial support to academic staff for the purchase of essential tools and materials required for their professional duties.
