FG Tightens Tertiary School Rules, Pays Lecturers’ Tools Allowance
By Victor Idajili
The Federal Government has launched a major reform of how tertiary institutions are accredited and how students are admitted, with stiff penalties for schools that cut corners. At the same time, it has paid the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance to lecturers in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the moves on Wednesday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Ministerial Committee on Strengthening Accreditation and Quality Assurance.
No more “borrowed” staff and equipment
Alausa warned institutions against presenting temporary staff, borrowed equipment and rented facilities during accreditation visits.
“An institution should not be able to prepare a temporary picture of itself simply for an accreditation visit. Sadly, this is what persists in the majority of instances,” he said.
Going forward, he said accreditation must reflect the “actual and sustainable capacity” of a school. He said officials who violate the rules risk losing their jobs, while private institutions that break the law could have their licences revoked.
To enforce this, the government will move from the current system of accreditation every 3 to 5 years to a continuous, digital and data-driven process.
Alausa said technology such as geospatial mapping, geotagging and digital identification will be used to track equipment and verify that it is permanently located in an institution. Staff will also be verified through a digital identity system linked to NIN, BVN and other government databases to stop the practice of one lecturer being presented as full-time in multiple schools.
“The physical visit will remain important, but it should increasingly serve to validate verified data rather than begin the verification process from scratch,” he said.
The Minister said the NUC, NBTE and NCCE will use a single digital platform as a “source of truth” to reduce conflicts between regulators and to build proper institutional records.
Alausa also vowed to end illegal admissions and over-enrolment. He said hundreds of thousands of students are admitted outside approved quotas each year, with some schools admitting 1,000 students when they are only approved for 100.
“It’s saddening. An employer will say, ‘I want to employ 20 lawyers.’ He gets 500 applicants but can’t even get five qualified applicants. It’s a shame,” he said.
He said the practice overstretches lecturers and facilities and produces graduates who are not job-ready.
“This Ministry of Education is not going to let this continue. Other presidents, other governments may have allowed this to continue, but we are not going to let this continue. You will lose your job if you don’t act on time. Private institutions will lose their licences,” he warned.
The Minister also confirmed that the Federal Government has fully paid the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance, CATA, to academic staff for January to August 2026.
CATA is meant to help lecturers buy materials needed for teaching and research.
“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. All these institutions should have received notification to start paying CATA to all academic staff,” Alausa said.
He added that payment for non-academic staff is being processed and should be released in the next few weeks.
According to him, the payment aligns with the 2025 agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU, and reflects President Tinubu’s commitment to staff welfare.
The Minister said the reforms also include investments in infrastructure across tertiary institutions, as well as in basic and postgraduate education.
He charged the new committee to review the accreditation processes of NUC, NBTE and NCCE and recommend practical ways to make them credible, transparent and technology-driven.
