There are people whose authority is indisputable. The word is the first and the last. The only opinion. But at the same time there is not a hint of harshness or cruelty - only understanding and goodwill. The absence of any dictatorial habits - and the requirement of unquestioning obedience. Moreover, those around them obey, as a rule, without even thinking about a different model of behavior. This is probably strength of character, almost physically felt. This amazing combination of strict kindness and kind severity was truly possessed by a man of whom the university has a bright, pure memory. Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich Zholamanov (1931-2005). In this seemingly modest man, one could physically feel the calm dignity of a self-confident person. Having reached professional heights in his career, having gained the unconditional respect of colleagues and students, he managed to maintain a noble simplicity in communication. No arrogance or irritation. Familiarity. Balance and endurance. The concept of “intelligence” has many definitions. Often this is, first of all, an element of culture, a rare ability not to burden other people, a respectful attitude towards any person, regardless of age and status. The teacher raised both his own children and his students in exactly this way. The meaning of luck and success did not mean for the older generation, to which Kuandyk Zholamanov belonged, what is now commonly called career and fame. Doing your job conscientiously, if you are able to help people, help, is a life credo. You can't buy honor and conscience, you have to have them. Consciousness is always formed in childhood and adolescence. Little Kuandyk had just started going to the village school, but he already understood who mugalim was. The authority of the teacher in the village is unconditionally, certainly high. The most literate, the most educated. The most fair person. The future scientist-teacher will retain this reverent, almost reverent respect for the teacher’s work for the rest of his life. Relatives remember: the boy studied during his school days with great diligence, trying to get to the bottom of everything, to find and delve into the correct solution to mathematical wisdom himself. From there, from his school years, the young boy learned the first lessons of moral behavior, learned the old truth: so as not to lose you on earth, try not to lose yourself. Not even reaching adulthood, the purposeful young man goes to work as a teacher in an elementary school in the Degtyarnoye village of the North Kazakhstan region. A year later he entered the Petropavlovsk Pedagogical School to study by correspondence. And from now on, the fate of Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich is connected with education. The young specialist had the opportunity to go through all levels of teaching - after elementary school, he taught older children. The knowledge and talent of a persistent horseman is impossible not to notice. Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich is entrusted with the directorship of a seven-year school, and then a secondary school. He passed the difficult path of directorship with dignity, increasingly thinking about a bright future. Striving for knowledge, a young ambitious man travels to the capital of the Kazakh SSR - surrounded by high white mountains, a beautiful city surrounded by green gardens - Almaty, where he enters the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Kazakh State University named after S.M. Kirov. In those days, getting a higher education at Kirov Kazakh State University, and even at such a prestigious and quite complex Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, would have been beyond the power of a person who did not have willpower and perseverance. And getting there was not at all easy; the competition for one place was fantastic. Graduates of the flagship higher school of the KAZSSR, the Kazakh State University, were assigned to regional universities; their diplomas were highly valued, since the quality of education in those years was invariably impeccable. Having solid practical experience, a certified specialist is sent by the Ministry of Education to work in the east of the republic. From 1960 to 1972, Kuandyk Zholamanov served as assistant, head of the department of physics and mathematics at the Semipalatinsk Veterinary and Pavlodar Industrial and Pedagogical Institutes. And in 1972, associate professor Zholamanov was sent to Kokshetau to the position of vice-rector. The Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the local pedagogical institute was founded in 1962. At first, only the department of physics and mathematics was formed here, and already in 1965 a full-fledged faculty was created. From 1972 until the end of his life he worked at the Kokchetav Pedagogical Institute, which later became a regional university. It was here, in Kokshetau, the quiet, cozy city that Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich Zholamanov loved, that he emerged as a competent, responsible leader, but very principled and demanding. The position of vice-rector for academic affairs is extremely troublesome, hectic and difficult. There are many problems in the university educational process, and the vice-rector had to solve them. Having started teaching disciplines that required deep knowledge in the field of economics and mathematics, Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich paid considerable attention to teaching methods at the university, and also insisted on providing methodological assistance to teachers working in specialized physics and mathematics classes in city schools. For him there were no small details in his work. He completed every task efficiently and with full dedication. To be the vice-rector for academic and scientific work of a major regional university for eighteen long years is a hugely responsible job, a monstrous load on the body, and constant time pressure. Someone accurately and aptly said: “Everything good in our life happens in a state of time pressure.” In 1990, a vacancy for rector opened up, and colleagues unanimously elected Kuandyk Zholamanov to this responsible position. This is undoubtedly a well-deserved assessment of conscientious many years of work, an indicator of professional and human authority, an indicator of the trust of the team, recognition of the contribution to science and pedagogy of the country. Thousands and hundreds of former graduates now working in schools in the region are still grateful to Zholamanov. In the good old days, there was a tradition: first-year students of the Virgin Lands took an active part in harvesting grains, potatoes and vegetables. What is typical is that Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich was always with the students, energetically collaborating with the heads of state and collective farms, trying to more effectively organize the work and life of students in rural areas. The machine operators of such state farms as Prirechensky, Kusepsky, Kotyrkolsky, Zarechny and many others knew Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich by sight. The titles “Excellence in Public Education of the Kazakh SSR”, “Excellence in Education of the USSR”, Certificate of Honor of the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR, the highest pedagogical award of Kazakhstan - the medal named after. I. Altynsarin is a recognition of the titanic merits of a person who strived for truth and justice in everything. Evgeny Boyarsky, candidate of philological sciences, rector of the Kokchetav Pedagogical Institute named after Valikhanov in 1972-1990, recalled the joint work with a touch of nostalgia: “A man who worked next to me for almost two decades passed away early. He and I are practically the same age (the difference of 1.5 years is not that significant). I, like him, survived the famine of the 30s, the hard times of the Patriotic War, and the difficult post-war years. For me, like Kuandyk, one university became my “alma mater” - Kazakh State University: we spent both our student years and graduate school there. Both began their university work in peripheral universities as ordinary teachers, and after graduating from graduate school and defending their dissertations, they received their first appointments: I was the vice-rector of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Pedagogical Institute, he was the head of the department of Pavlodar. And almost simultaneously they were sent to the Kokchetav Pedagogical Institute to the leadership positions of rector and vice-rector. 18 years of joint work is a kind of phenomenon in Kazakhstani universities. We are almost different in character, in temperament, in individual methods of work, but common goals made us mutually understand and support each other. The significant growth of the educational and material base, the radical strengthening of the scientific potential of the teaching staff, the transition of the university to the second category, the passing banner of the Ministry of Education of the Kazakh SSR at the end of 1983 are clear confirmations of this. Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich knew his business thoroughly, although in the first years he was responsible not only for educational work, but also for scientific work. More than once he had to simultaneously replace the rector. He led the methodological seminar, strictly asked the deans of faculties and heads of departments for the prompt submission of the necessary data on the work of the departments. Annual reports (and this is one of the many other responsibilities of the vice-rector for academic affairs) were always specific, fact-rich and convincing in their essence, I rarely had to make adjustments to them. The authority of Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich among the vice-rectors of pedagogical universities of the republic was at its best, and it is no coincidence that the Ministry more than once included him in commissions for the inspection of other universities. During the entire period of work, the punishment from the Ministry was received by the management of the university only in connection with the December events of 1986. But this is rather a matter of political conjuncture. I understood that Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich was ripe for the position of the first head of a university, and he was offered this leadership position in other universities, and he even agreed at first, but then remained, not wanting to change his place of residence. Therefore, it is no coincidence that, when submitting my application for retirement, I confidently proposed Kuandyk’s candidacy.” Kadyrkhan Musabaev, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, sincerely respected his colleague: “In my memory, the worker of education Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich remained as a person who saw the basis and meaning of life in work. Almost the entire burden of the educational process lay on his shoulders: drawing up various documentation, including countless reports, systematically working with heads of departments and deans. From the heads of departments he required knowledge and understanding of the structure of the curriculum, the volume of disciplines in hours and the time order of their study. If someone “limped” according to the curriculum, the vice-rector said directly that without knowledge of these documents it is impossible to rationally organize and manage the educational process of the department. Someone “had difficulty making plans,” Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich himself told him from memory the volume of academic disciplines, and there were hundreds of them throughout the institute. When I went into his office on business, I always found him writing something; business papers were neatly laid out in piles on the desk. And at meetings of the academic council and the rector’s office, he spoke with strong, clear evidence, promptly possessing information. It was a phenomenon in the field of enlightenment, a mystery for many of us: how can one tirelessly do the same routine work for so many years, investing a lot of time and labor. For him, this was a professional need, the essence of his character. Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich left a noticeable mark on the lives of almost all of us: he pushed some to engage in scientific work, others to speed up the completion of their dissertations, and he promoted others through the ranks.” Professor Tursynbek Malikov recalled: “Thanks to the democratic principles and tact of the rector in organizing the work of the institute’s management, on the one hand, and, on the other, to the initiative and activity of the vice-rector, Boyarsky and Zholamanov headed the institute absolutely on equal terms. Moreover, the vice-rector actively implemented his ideas in his work, his vision of organizing educational work. The Boyarsky-Zholamanov tandem complemented each other, had great creative power, and was creative even when contradictions arose between them. I remember his words: “I won’t be a boss forever, it’s important to me how I will look people in the eyes after I retire.” But he did not at all soften the demands, if not strengthen them, but remained invariably fair, putting forward them in a very reasoned manner, in a business-like and delicate manner, without insulting people, without infringing on their dignity. I will not forget the incident: in those years, pedagogical practice in the Kazakh department was organized in nearby Kazakh schools in Seifullinskaya and Kzylsayanskaya. Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich calls me and asks: “Why has no one shown up at the schools in the villages of Kzylsaya and im. Seifullin? Hoping to somehow “get out”, I say: “Who said that?” It’s unlikely that anyone could check the practices on state farms seventy kilometers away. But it was useless to deny: it turned out that the vice-rector himself had visited these schools.” The memoirs of Mars Subkhankulov are touching: “The name of Kuandyk, proclaiming Joy, seems always present. And just like in primary school, it carries a feeling of living life. There was a uniqueness to the presence of Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich. This is probably how those real elders (who passed on wisdom to the younger ones) who left in the early thirties should have looked at it. His presence in various life situations was devoid of burden. Typically, managers pose as bosses who are supposed to know, order, threaten, punish and bear responsibility “for us who are careless.” Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich made demands, asked to do something, and did not resort to such tricks as most managers resort to. It is customary to say: he passed away. But the whole course of words that we have strung above is the opposite. Its appearance, preserved in us and continuing to exist, is accompanied by a feeling of life. He appeared at the department, in the laboratory or in the classroom, and there was no feeling of pressure, the person gave the opportunity to others to be “free”, did not force (and many do) to adapt to himself, using his gaze or gestures of threat and significance as a magnet. It was this feeling of “freedom” that he bestowed on his interlocutor that deprived the other of the need to maintain resentment, regret, and reproach against him. “Freedom” from a negative consequence makes the memories of it clean and transparent. Sometimes an almost childish regret appeared on his face (probably from the assumption that we were playing role-playing games and were not ready for the manifestation of open humanity). I saw especially a lot of such “regret” on his face on one of the last anniversaries of our pedagogical institute, where accents were unfairly placed. There was a feeling of discrediting the human family, called the collective, regret from human “lack of understanding” and, probably, something else unknown to me. It is unpleasant for him to express out loud his accumulated reproaches to those who should understand the “human principle.” The image of impeccable behavior, passed on to him by his elders, was always for him the basis of what is commonly called intention, and he himself expected purity of intentions from people. The presence of this unspoken spiritual plan makes his image undistorted by time.” If your son remained with you, it means that you yourself remained... The father of the future professor was a talented man who knew entire poems and dastans by heart. Sabit Mukanov recalls Dosmaganbet aga’s oratory skills in his book “Halyk Murasy”. Growing up in such an atmosphere, a teenager could not help but be carried away by a genetically predetermined thirst for knowledge. It is symptomatic that in adulthood Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich became interested in the philosophical aspects of his favorite science of mathematics, enrolling in graduate school at Kazakh State University. In 1969, he defended his dissertation and the scientific degree of Candidate of Philosophical Sciences in his tireless quest to comprehend the truth. Kuandyk Dosmaganbetovich and his wife Tanzilya Shagraevna raised seven children: two teach at universities. Bakhytzhan is at administrative work. Baurzhan – Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor at Turan University. Batyrkhan is fluent in English and is one of the leading simultaneous interpreters in Kazakhstan. Saule – Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor. Sholpan is a PR and advertising specialist. Asan completed his master's degree under the Presidential program "Bolashak", Aman works in the west of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A man of Good, Kuandyk Zholamanov lived his short life as the people and for the people.
