Perera completed his primary and secondary education at the Royal Primary School and the Royal College, Colombo and thereafter gained BSc (Honours) from the University of Sri Lanka, Colombo in May 1975, followed by a joint MSc from the University of Colombo and the University of Birmingham, England in July 1977. He thereby qualified professionally in the field of Analytical Chemistry, specialising in the subject of Quality Assurance, in which field his outstanding contributions were internationally recognised and awarded with an honorary PhD.