Towards critical global education for development with a Kazakh human face.

The purpose of this article is to propose critical development (global) education for Kazakhstan. The article observes and sympathizes with the version of state capitalism unfolding in the country. To this end an analysis of Kazakhstan’s development trajectory is done. The drive towards economic development that is aimed at enabling Kazakhstan to be in the top 50 competitive countries of the world is discussed as well as the associated higher education role and policy. Utilizing seminal national documents on education and the country’s development policy framework, the article augments and extends the conceptualization of the role of (higher) education advocating for inclusive development that addresses the developmental issues of all Kazakhs including the marginalized. The utilized documents portray an emphasis on neoliberal economic development that seem to subordinate other aspects of development and hence the call for a development with a human face. It is concluded and recommended that higher education should consider development that goes beyond economic growth and promote one that leads to the expansion of people's freedoms to live long, healthy, and creative lives.