The Federal Government has commenced the full payment of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) to academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across Nigeria.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday while speaking shortly after inaugurating the Ministerial Committee on Accreditation.
According to the minister, the allowance covers the period from January to August 2026 and is being implemented in line with the agreement reached between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in 2025.
Alausa explained that CATA is designed to provide financial support to academic staff for the purchase of essential tools and materials needed for teaching, research and other academic responsibilities.
He said the Federal Government had released the funds to the affected institutions and that academic staff should have begun receiving notifications concerning the payment.
“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,” Alausa said.
He added that the institutions had been informed to commence the payment of the allowance to eligible academic staff.
The minister also disclosed that the government was processing the payment of the allowance for non-academic staff.
The development is expected to provide some financial relief to lecturers and other academic personnel who rely on the allowance to support the tools and materials required for their professional duties.
The Federal Government said the payment further demonstrates its commitment to implementing the provisions contained in the 2025 agreement with ASUU.
