The Federal Government has released funds to settle eight months of accumulated Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) owed to eligible academic staff in federal tertiary institutions across the country.
Gatekeepers News reports that Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, saying the payment reflects the government’s commitment to fulfilling its obligations to academic staff and improving the welfare of workers in the tertiary education sector.
Alausa said the release of the funds was also in line with the Federal Government’s implementation of the renegotiated agreement with academic staff unions.
“I am happy to announce that the CATA payment has now been settled by the Federal Government from January to August 2026 to all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. All these institutions, as well as federal universities of agriculture, should have received. Every institution should have received its notification to start paying CATA to all academic staff,” he said.
CATA is a fixed allowance designed to provide lecturers with resources required for teaching, research and professional development.
The allowance covers expenses including journal publications, conference participation, internet services, membership of professional and learned societies, and the purchase of academic books.
The allowance was reviewed under the Federal Government’s 2025 agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which was signed on January 14, 2026.
It forms a key component of the revised remuneration package for university lecturers and is part of a 40 per cent increase in their overall emoluments.
At its National Executive Council meeting in June, ASUU reviewed the implementation of its agreement with the Federal Government and expressed concerns over outstanding elements of the revised remuneration package, including CATA.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Kashim Shettima has described the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as a major social intervention of the Tinubu administration, saying it is helping to break the cycle of poverty by enabling students from less privileged backgrounds to access and remain in tertiary institutions.
Shettima spoke in Abuja when he received the management team of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), led by its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi, on a courtesy visit.
According to the Vice-President, NELFUND has emerged as a critical social equaliser by removing financial barriers that have historically prevented many young Nigerians from pursuing higher education.
He said the scheme, through the payment of tuition and provision of monthly upkeep allowances, was giving students from poor and vulnerable families an opportunity to obtain university education without the immediate financial burden associated with tertiary education.
Shettima said NELFUND was conceived not simply as an education financing programme but as a strategic tool for poverty reduction and human-capital development.
Recalling his experience as a student at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), where rising food prices created financial difficulties for students, the Vice-President said NELFUND was providing much-needed relief to young Nigerians facing similar economic pressures.
“NELFUND is a very beautiful initiative by the leadership of this country under President Bola Tinubu, created to give respite and breathing space to the children of the poor,” he said.
