Standardization and modernization of Kazakhstan Higher education

Worked out is the analyzes of development of the Kazakhstan system of standardization of higher education on the example of several generations of state educational standards. Their features are examined in structural terms, as well as in terms of the requirements for the compulsory minimum of the educational content, the level of preparedness of graduates and learning outcomes. The dynamics of transformations in the context of expansion of universities academic freedoms, the ratio of compulsory and university components of educational programs is shown. The role of educational and methodological associations of universities of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the development of the regulatory and legal support of the educational process is emphasized. The relevance of introducing the competence-based approach in higher education on the basis of combining educational and professional standards is noted. It is shown that inconsistent and hasty reforms, uncompetitive level of teachers’ remuneration, expanding bureaucratization, underdeveloped quality assurance culture do not contribute to the successful modernization of higher education.