Mr M G K M Fernando joined the National Education Commission (NEC) in 2020 as the Vice Chairperson (Planning). He served in the Sri Lanka Administrative Service for over 35 years and held diverse positions during his tenure. Mr. Fernando began his career as the Assistant Government Agent at the Rambewa Divisional Secretariat in 1984. He then worked as the Deputy Director of the Planning Division at the District Secretariat, Puttalam for five years. After serving in number of positions in planning and development ground, Mr Feranando served as the District Secretary of Puttalam District since 2008 to 2015.

In 2015, Mr. Fernando was appointed as the Senior Additional Secretary to the President, and he was responsible for implementation of the constitutional and statutory powers vested with the President by the Constitution. Further, he was performing the duties relevant to policy, monitoring and coordination, at the Presidential Secretariat, especially in the overall development context. During his term at the Presidential Secretariat, he also served as the national coordinator for the National Nutrition Secretariat and the national focal point for the UN Scaling up Movement Secretariat for Sri Lanka. He made a notable contribution in addressing the issue of malnutrition in the country, particularly among children and women.

While serving as the Senior Additional Secretary to the President, Mr. Fernando also acted as the Director General of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) from November 2016 to September 2017. He was a member of the National Education Commission and the Salaries and Carder Commission in his official capacity. He also served as the Director of the School of Accounting & Business and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka from 2016 to 2017. Then, he was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management in 2017 and served there until his retirement. Following his retirement from the formal government sector, he was appointed as an Advisor to the Hon. Prime Minister. Additionally, he is serving as a Member of the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission in addition to his current capacity as the Vice Chairman (Planning) of NEC.

As a career civil servant, Mr. Fernando made an immense contribution to the country, particularly in the development context. His involvement and active contribution were significant in enhancing primary and secondary education in rural areas and promoting tertiary education in the country, both at the implementation level at the ground level and the national policy planning stage. His experience as a senior administrator on planning, implementation, management, and resource mobilization was commendable, especially during the challenging times of the country.

Mr. Fernando holds a B.A. (General) degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenapura, in addition to an Advanced Diploma in Public Administration. He has received multiple trainings on planning, administration, management, and monitoring, both locally and internationally.