Modern ways of development of higher education in the Republic of Kazakhstan

In this article were identified urgent problems of higher education in the Republic of Kazakhstan, which aimed at improving the competitiveness of education, the development of human capital by providing access to quality education for sustainable economic development. The research results and prospects for the development of higher education in the Republic of Kazakhstan were identified.

Keywords: educаtion system, higher education, science, integration, human capital, investment.

Introduction

With the intensification of globalization and integration processes, human capital acts as a tool to increase the country's competitiveness. For successful competition on the world stage, countries need to train highly qualified personnel who can use their knowledge and skills to develop the country's economy. Human capital is considered as the basis for economic growth in connection with the departure of many countries from the raw material orientation of the economy, labor-intensive production and stimulating the development of innovations and technologies. Therefore, special emphasis is placed on the development and improvement of the quality of higher education, which is aimed at the formation of demanded personnel in accordance with the new realities.

The urgency of the problem of the development of higher education is due to modern world trends, which dictate the need to bring the quality of training of graduates of higher educational institutions in the Republic of Kazakhstan in line with world requirements. Currently, Kazakhstan is implementing the second stage of the State Program for the Development of Education in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011–2020. The main goal of the program is to increase the competitiveness of education, the development of human capital by ensuring the availability of quality education for sustainable economic growth. In other words, affordable quality education should become one of the main mechanisms of the country's economic development in the medium term. Successful implementation of the Program should contribute to the formation of human capital in the Republic of Kazakhstan [1].

The importance of the work is determined by the need to study and solve the urgent problems of the development of higher education in Kazakhstan in order to ensure a new level of development of university education, as well as the emergence of Kazakhstani higher education institutions in leadership positions in the global educational space.

Methodology

In this research were used theoretical and empirical research methods: the research of foreign and Kazakhstani authors on this article, legislative and program documents are studied. In order to identify problems, an analysis of official statistics was conducted.

Results аnd Discussion

Based on the analysis of the evolution and current state of higher education in Kazakhstan, the following problems were identified that impeded the further development of higher education in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Over the years of independence, the Republic of Kazakhstan has taken significant steps towards integration into the global educational space. In 2011, a particularly important step was taken by state bodies — the implementation of such a global trend of higher education as academic mobility in Kazakhstan was provided with finances. Now, at the expense of the state, students of national universities can study at the best European higher educational institutions for a semester, and students of other regional higher educational institutions of Kazakhstan at national universities of the country. At the same time, credit technology allows you to count such education in another institution of higher education. However, despite the results achieved, there are a few problems in this direction. For example, student coverage in English programs remains low. This is primarily due to the low level of language training, both faculty and students. Also, there is a problem of insufficient material and technical support of the educational process. It is necessary to understaff libraries with scientific and periodical literature in English.

The large coverage of students with training programs in English will allow students and faculty to expand and deepen knowledge in one area or another by studying the primary sources of world scientific literature and textbooks [2]. In the context of globalization, insufficient language training prevents specialists from establishing contacts with foreign colleagues to effectively carry out their activities. Therefore, it is important for students and teachers to improve the quality of English language proficiency as a tool for successful integration into the global educational community. Consideration should be given to introducing English courses and expanding the language training of specialists.

Integration of Science and Education

World experience shows that the integration of education and science is becoming a decisive factor in the growth of the competitiveness of the national economy. Leading universities in the USA, Europe, and Asia are a good example of the successful integration of science and education. A special place in world practice is occupied by research universities, where on campus walls there are both lecture halls, where students receive theoretical material, and laboratories, in which, directly, research activity takes place [2].

In recent years, certain steps have been taken in the Republic of Kazakhstan towards the integration of science and education. In 2011, the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Science” was adopted, and in 2015, the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Commercialization of the Results of Scientific and Technical Activities”. 16 commercialization offices, 3 technoparks and 4 business incubators have been created and are currently operating. However, an analysis of the activities of scientific organizations and higher educational institutions in the Republic of Kazakhstan shows that the level of integration of science and education remains very weak. Currently, of the 127 higher education institutions, only two are research universities: Nazarbayev University and the Kazakh National Research Technical University named after K. I. Satpayev [3]. There is a problem related to the level of quality of research services offered by higher education institutions. This problem, in turn, is caused by the non-motivation of higher education institutions to develop their own scientific competencies, since they, unlike Western universities, receive the main income from the provision of educational services. This imbalance leads to a deterioration in the quality of research personnel, a decrease in the interest of young people in scientific activity. Therefore, for the Republic of Kazakhstan, the study and implementation of effective foreign models for the integration of science and education adapted to local conditions and considering national characteristics, is relevant.

Improving the competitiveness of education

Higher educational institutions of Kazakhstan show an insufficient level of competitiveness in the market of higher education. The number of higher education institutions represented in international rankings remains low. To improve their positions in international rankings, higher education institutions should pay attention to the following indicators: the quality of the educational process, scientific work, international activities, the presence of an additional source of financing and investors.

Higher educational institutions of Kazakhstan should be competitive in the world market and attract new foreign students in the field of higher education: USA and Great Britain. For example, the share of foreign students in higher education in the OECD countries reaches 9–10 %. Currently, the percentage of foreign students in Kazakhstan is 2.5 %, this is due to the low attractiveness of domestic higher education and the insufficient number of educational programs for students in English [4]. Thus, improving the quality of higher education in the Republic of Kazakhstan will contribute to increasing the competitiveness of national universities and their leadership on a global scale.

Development prospects

Based on the analysis of the international experience of developed countries, the following promising directions for the development of higher education in the Republic of Kazakhstan can be proposed:

2) Consideration of the possibility of introducing new mechanisms of cooperation within the educational cluster «education — science — business», emphasis on the practical application of the acquired knowledge

3) Revision of the assessment system of knowledge acquired by students. Moreover, the assessment of knowledge should be reviewed so that this system tests not only the level of theoretical knowledge, but also the ability to apply knowledge and thinking skills of a higher level in practice.

At the same time, along with the development of an effective state educational policy, the key educational technologies used within the educational system are aimed at improving the quality of education and qualifications of specialists, as well as ensuring that the skills acquired during the training process meet the needs of the labor market.

A significant role in improving the quality of education is played by the development and implementation of new progressive educational technologies. Among the modern educational technologies used today in Kazakhstan, the following should be noted: distance educational technologies; design and gaming educational technologies; information and communication training technologies; personally oriented learning [5].

Based on the studied international best practices in the field of new educational technologies, it is advisable to propose the following promising areas for the development and improvement of the quality of the domestic higher education system in Kazakhstan:

1) Studying the potential of online education technologies in Kazakhstan following the example of such countries as the United Kingdom, Norway, Russia. In the future, consideration of the possibility of forming a single national platform, which will be based on competent research, and focus on the development of new knowledge, cooperation between higher education and industrial fields in the use of massive open online courses for vocational training. In particular, one should study the experience of Great Britain in combining all online courses offered by domestic educational institutions under a single brand at the state level

2) Consideration of the possibility of studying individual subjects and passing credit through educational platforms. Students are given the opportunity to choose for taking individual disciplines remotely through the online courses of renowned lecturers (Harvard, MIT and others) conducted on educational platforms and equating the test on them with the general curriculum

3) Increased export of higher education services. It should be noted that the export of higher education services gives the leading countries in the application of breakthrough educational technologies significant revenues.

Thus, as a result of the effective application of modern advanced educational technologies in the practice of teaching domestic higher education institutions in the long term, one can expect an increase in the quality of educational services, an increase in the number of highly qualified personnel in the country's economy, and, consequently, an increase in the rate of economic growth and an increase in government revenues from exports educational services.

Conclusions

1. The field of higher education is an important factor in ensuring the quality of human capital. It is necessary to improve the system of higher education.
2. An important role in providing professional training for competent and competitive specialists for all sectors of the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan is played by domestic higher education. Unfortunately, most employers are not satisfied with the quality of training of specialists graduated from higher educational institutions. Educational programs do not always meet the expectations of employers and do not meet the needs of the national economy.
3. Improving the quality of higher education will contribute to solving the problem of employment and the lack of qualified personnel. Higher education should focus on the maximum satisfaction of the current and future needs of the national labor market in graduates.
4. The best international experience shows that integrated scientific and educational structures provide training for qualitatively new specialists in demand on the labor market.
5. Science and education should be considered as a national treasure, determining the level of development and the future of the country and state support in this direction is a strategic task.
6. There is a need to further stimulate the influx of foreign students, teachers, and researchers into Kazakhstan in order to develop higher education and have a beneficial effect on the country's economy as a whole.
7. Ensuring the mobility of the faculty and students will facilitate the exchange of scientific developments and cooperation in the research field.
8. Current global trends define massive online courses, digital interactive training programs and international educational communities as new trends in the learning process — precursors of structural changes in the educational process. Even though these technologies are not able to completely replace classical education, however, now this format of training has opened up many new ways and opportunities for quality education.

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