Dr. K M Kabirul Islam was a career civil servant in Bangladesh and worked in several ministries
and divisions, including the Technical and Madrasha Education Division (TMED) of the Ministry
of Education, the Finance Division, the Cabinet Division, and the Ministry of Social Welfare. He
retired from the civil service in 2025 as a Senior Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh. As
a Senior Secretary to the Government, he steered several reform measures, including the
adoption of new policies to enhance the quality of education. He also worked in field
administration at sub-district and district levels, as well as in local government institutions. Dr.
Islam graduated from the Institute of Social Welfare and Research (ISWR) at the University of
Dhaka, Bangladesh, and completed his second master's degree in Comparative Social Work
from Nord University in Bod�, Norway. He completed his PhD in Social Policy in 2016 from the
Social Policy Research Center (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney,
Australia. His PhD research examined the qualitative impacts of social safety net programs on
the food security of rural poor in Bangladesh.
Dr. Islam is a social policy researcher and a guest lecturer at the Department of Development
Studies at the University of Dhaka. His research interests include poverty, social safety nets,
food security, and civil service reforms. He provided consultancy services to various government
ministries and international organizations, including the Ministry of Public Administration and
UNICEF. He is a founding Trustee of the Center for Policy Analysis and Advocacy (CePAA) - a
Dhaka-based think tank.
He has published research articles, book chapters, and monographs from home and abroad.