Upali Gunasekara is a distinguished education leader with over three decades of service at the highest levels of Sri Lanka’s education system. A Chemistry graduate of the University of Peradeniya and holder of a Master of Science in Education Management from the National Institute of Education, he has shaped policy, led iconic institutions, and championed educational excellence across the country.

His career spans senior roles at the Ministry of Education, the National Institute of Education, and the District Education Office, before culminating in two landmark principalships. He served as Principal of Isipathana College and subsequently as Principal of Royal College, Colombo, one of Sri Lanka’s most prestigious national schools, a position he held for over twelve years.

Recognised as the Best Principal in the 1AB School category at both the Western Province National Teachers Evaluation Programme in 2005 and the Colombo Zone in 2014, he has also been honoured under the Junior Achievement International Programme USA and received a Special Appreciation at Guru Prathibha Prabha 2014.

Beyond school leadership, he has contributed to national education policy as a member of the National Curriculum Consultative Committee, the Academic Affairs Board of the National Institute of Education, and the Special Committee on General Education under the National Science Council. He has also served on presidential and prime ministerial committees on scholarship, human resource development, and examination policy.

Today, as Chairman of Polymath Education and Principal of Polymath International School, he brings that wealth of experience to bear in building a new generation of learners.