ABUJA — The Federal Government on Tuesday presented the 2026 agreements reached with staff unions in tertiary institutions, describing them as a key step towards ending the strikes that have repeatedly disrupted academic calendars across the country. Presenting the documents in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the agreements were tied to President Bola Tinubu's promise that a four-year course should be completed in four years. He assured the unions that government would honour its own side of the arrangements. The agreements introduce two allowances. The Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA) covers members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), while the Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance (CONTTA) covers non-teaching staff in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. Both take effect from January 1, 2026. To keep the deals on track, the Implementation and Monitoring Committee first set up for the agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities will now monitor all academic and non-academic union agreements. Unions will sit on the committee, and government plans to make it a permanent body. The agreements will also be reviewed every three years. Alausa urged union leaders to take their complaints to the committee instead of resorting to strike threats, noting that broken agreements in the past had cost students valuable learning time and placed extra financial pressure on families. The minister commended the negotiating committee chaired by Malam Yayale Ahmed, a former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education. Ahmed acknowledged that some parts of the documents contain discrepancies and said these would be corrected together with the ministry and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission. Signed copies were received by ASUP, COEASU, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and other unions. ASUP President Shammah Kpanja described the process as the fastest negotiation in the union's history, explaining that talks began in December 2025, the agreement was signed in April 2026 and arrears were paid between July and September. COEASU President Dr Lawal Bazza said implementation in colleges of education had passed 70 per cent, while SSANU President Ibrahim Mohammed also praised government for the progress made. Stakeholders say the real test will be whether the new monitoring structure keeps both sides committed long enough to deliver uninterrupted academic sessions.