The Institutes and Centres under the auspices of UNESCO (Category 2) are not legally part of the Organization, but are associated with it through formal arrangements approved by the General Conference.They contribute to the achievement of UNESCO's strategic programme objectives and sectoral or intersectoral programme priorities and themes.

Currently, there are eight UNESCO Category 2 Centres in Education Sector as follows:

• Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU), Seoul, Republic of Korea
• International Centre for Girls and Women's Education in Africa (CIEFFA), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
• International Research and Training Center for Rural Education (INRULED), Beijing, China
• Regional Centre for Educational Planning (RCEP), Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
• The South-East Asian Centre for Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development (SEA CLLSD), Philippines
• Regional Centre for Early Childhood Care and Education in the Arab States Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic
• South Asian Centre for Teacher Development (SACTD) in Meepe, Sri Lanka
• Regional Centre for Quality and Excellence in Education (RCQE), Saudi Arabia
• Regional Centre for Adult Education (ASFEC), Sir El-Layyan, Egypt