Prof. Manjula Vithanapathirana, Professor of Educational Psychology (Chair) at the Faculty of Education, University of Colombo, assumed duties as the Director General of the National Institute of Education (NIE), Sri Lanka, on December 30, 2024.

Prof. Manjula Vithanapathirana holds a BSc Honours degree in Zoology from the University of Colombo. 

She earned a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and a Master of Education from the Open University of Sri Lanka. She has also acquired Postgraduate Diploma and Master of Arts degrees from the Post Graduate Institute of Buddhist and Pali Studies, University of Kelaniya.

Her academic journey culminated in a PhD in Education from the Institute of Education (IOE), University College London (UCL), which she pursued under a scholarship awarded by UCL. She completed her doctoral studies under the expert guidance of the world-renowned Professor Emerita Angela Little.

Prof. Vithanapathirana served as the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Colombo from 2016 to 2019. Her association with the National Institute of Education dates back to 1988 when she was among the pioneering members of the Department of Educational Research, where she served until 1998.

In 2016, she was elected as the General President of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS), the country’s premier professional body for scientists.

Prof. Vithanapathirana has gained extensive cross-national field experience in education systems across England and Wales, Peru, Malaysia (including the Borneo Islands), Nepal, Vietnam, South Africa, India, Finland, and various states in Japan, China, and the USA.

She has delivered invited keynote addresses and plenary lectures and presented research at more than 75 local and international forums. She is a member of the editorial boards of over 15 international journals and an active reviewer for more than 20 local and international journals.

Additionally, she has completed invited peer reviews of book manuscripts for esteemed publishers such as Springer and University College London Publishers.

Prof. Vithanapathirana was instrumental in collaborating with the University of Graz, Austria, to plan the CONTESSA project. She recommended the inclusion of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), Faculty of Education in the project consortium, enabling both institutions to benefit from the project through human resource capacity development and EdTech infrastructure enhancements, including the establishment of smart classrooms for teacher education.

Her extensive list of publications includes articles and chapters on a wide range of topics such as multigrade and multilevel education, early childhood education, primary education, Buddhist psychology, critical psychology, psychological well-being, science teacher education, content and language-integrated learning in secondary science, teaching and learning of mathematics, remedial education, the SDGs in education, soft skills development, adult education, inclusive education, blended teacher education, service learning, teaching internships, ICT integration in teaching and learning, and teacher preparation in the post-COVID-19 context in Sri Lanka.

She is internationally renowned for her expertise in multigrade and multilevel education and has served as a consultant in Pakistan’s Northern Areas at the invitation of the Aga Khan Education Service and in Eritrea, Africa, for UNICEF.

Prof. Vithanapathirana is the first and only Sri Lankan education scientist to be invited and interviewed by the globally recognized KIX (Global Partnership for Education Knowledge Innovation and Exchange) for their widely circulated iCloud podcasts featuring world-class education leaders. With 37 years of experience in education, Prof. Vithanapathirana is a distinguished senior education scientist known for her interdisciplinary research and innovative contributions to teacher education.
Addressing the NIE staff on 1st of January 2025, she outlined her vision for NIE’s future progress in alignment with the “Clean Sri Lanka“ initiative titled “Clean Sri Lanka: Empower NIE, Transform Education Together”.