Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa unveiled the 2026 agreements between the Federal Government and tertiary institution unions in Abuja on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. The agreements cover staff in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. The new allowances take effect from January 1, 2026.
His main message to students was short. A four-year course must finish in four years.
About the 2026 agreements Alausa unveiled with tertiary institution unions
Alausa said strikes have been eating into students’ time for years. Families paid extra costs too, and a four-year programme too often ran longer than four years. These agreements are the government’s way of fixing that.
He added that President Tinubu promised during his campaign that a four-year course would be completed in four years. According to the minister, these agreements are how that promise gets kept.
He also said signing is not the end of it. People will judge the government by what it does after the ceremony.
Unions that got signed agreements from the Federal Government
Alausa handed signed copies to representatives of these unions:
- ASUP (polytechnic lecturers) and COEASU (lecturers in colleges of education).
- SSANU, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities.
- NASU, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions.
- NAAT, the academic technologists.
- SSANIP, NOTSUP and SSUCOEN, plus other branches and categories under the unions that took part.
ASUU is not in that list. Its own agreement was done earlier, and it is explained further down.
Important dates for the tertiary education agreements
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| December 23, 2025 | FG and ASUU finished their renegotiation |
| January 1, 2026 | New allowances start for covered staff |
| January 14, 2026 | ASUU agreement unveiled in Abuja |
| February 9, 2026 | FG announced it had started the 40 per cent increase for ASUU members |
| April 2026 | ASUP agreement signed |
| June 29, 2026 | SSANU agreement signed at the NUC in Abuja |
| October 13, 2026 | Alausa unveils the 2026 agreements and hands signed copies to the unions |
What CATA and CONTTA mean in these agreements
CATA is the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance. It is for ASUP and COEASU members, so that means lecturers in polytechnics and colleges of education.
CONTTA is the Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance. This one is for the non-teaching staff unions in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Alausa said both are meant to support the tools and working needs of the staff. Money alone is not enough, he added. Staff should also get fair treatment, promotion that is open and clear, safe working places, and room to grow in their careers.
SSANU has shared what its own agreement carries:
- A 35 per cent upward review of emoluments through CONTTA.
- Better earned allowances.
- Staff training and development, plus protection of non-teaching positions.
- Equal career progression for qualified degree holders up to CONTISS 15. CONTISS is the salary structure for tertiary institution staff, and 15 is a grade level on it.
What ASUU got in its own agreement
ASUU’s deal came first. It replaces the 2009 agreement, which was supposed to be renegotiated in 2012 and then just sat there for years. The talks ended on December 23, 2025, and Alausa unveiled the agreement on January 14, 2026.
- Academic staff get a 40 per cent increase, starting from January 1, 2026.
- The 40 per cent review is shown through CATA, which covers journal publications, conference attendance, internet access, learned society membership and book allowance.
- Professors now get ₦1.7 million a year as a new allowance, meant for research coordination, documentation, correspondence and admin work. Readers get ₦840,000 a year for the same thing.
- Review comes every three years.
On February 9, 2026, the minister announced that the 40 per cent increase in the Consolidated Academic Allowance was approved. Some federal universities had already started reflecting it in salaries.
About the committee that will monitor the agreements
There was already an Implementation and Monitoring Committee (IMC) for the ASUU agreement. Now it has been expanded into one single platform for all the agreements with academic and non-academic staff unions in tertiary institutions.
More unions and stakeholders have been added to it. It will track what has been done and what is still owed, and it will send periodic reports. The minister said government wants to make it a permanent body.
He gave instructions too. Government agencies must do their part on time. Governing councils and school managements must keep proper records and follow the implementation guidelines. Union leaders should keep their members informed and bring complaints to the committee, not to strike threats.
The agreements also have a review every three years, so both sides can reopen talks on new concerns.
Problems still being raised about the agreements
Nobody at the event said everything is finished.
- Yayale Ahmed led the government’s negotiating team. He said some discrepancies were found in parts of the agreement, and they will be fixed together with the Ministry of Education and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission. He also said the unveiling is only the beginning of the job.
- ASUP president Shammah Kpanja said members have been getting arrears in stages between July and September. He wants the rest of the agreement implemented before the end of 2026, because elections come next year.
- The colleges of education are doing better. COEASU president Lawal Bazza said they are already above 70 per cent implementation.
- On April 30, the Joint Action Committee of SSANU and NASU directed members to begin a total strike from May 1, 2026, after a failed meeting with the minister. One of the issues was a 30 per cent CONTTA award letter that the unions rejected. Government had withdrawn that letter but had not given a replacement offer or a timeline.
- After the SSANU agreement was signed, SSANU’s NEC still asked government and university authorities to release funds and pay outstanding arrears.
What these agreements mean for students in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education
Government says the goal is no more strikes that stretch your course. Even the government’s own negotiator says the hard part is implementation. Both can be true, so don’t relax completely.
These are Federal Government agreements. For state-owned schools, it may be a different story. In September, the SSANU, NASU and NAAT branches at Kaduna State University had to ask Governor Uba Sani to implement the 2026 agreement. So if you are in a state school, find out what your own state is doing.
Watch two things. First, whether staff at your school are getting the new allowances and arrears. Second, what your union branch says after its meetings, because that is usually where a strike threat shows up first.
