Abstract
Education is as a social institution that ensures social stability and integration. Additionally, education plays a role in the socialization of individuals, including their acceptance and execution of social roles and statuses. This article raises issues of the development of education as a social institution and as a factor in the for-mation of human capital. The authors present and analyze key theoretical approaches to defining the role and significance of education in shaping human capital. The concept of “human capital” is examined within the context of contemporary Kazakhstani society. Human capital is viewed as an investment in personal devel-opment and social welfare, encompassing not only material success but also improvements in quality of life. The authors analyze the main trends in the development of higher education in Kazakhstan, provide statistics on government educational grants for higher education, and the allocation of quotas across regions of the country. The state, as a regulator, consciously implements policies to support socially vulnerable populations and improve the lives of youth from densely populated areas of the country. This work was carried out as part of a project funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No AP14971423 “Sociocultural adaptation of students studying under the “Serpin” program to the university space”)