What I would add to the wise things others have written here is that, since further education became more like a business than a service, far too many people are currently being educated beyond their capabilities. Why? Because higher student numbers make more profits for more institutions. Academic excellence would be a wonderful goal for everyone to aim for but the setup doesn't work like that any more. As I said on another thread, it's now bums-on-seats that count.
Of course there are some stunningly articulate, talented graduates coming out of universities now, but they aren't in the majority. Also, a shocking number of teachers are leaving education now because it seems that teaching is one of the last things they're expected to do (paperwork, paperwork, keeping pass numbers up by whatever means possible - and don't forget paperwork). I know several higher education lecturers of my generation who have taken early retirement (and a reduced pension) rather than continue to deal with the "ideals" currently being worshipped across the board.
We've gone from a situation where university was largely only an option for the well-heeled (unless you were lucky enough to secure a scholarship) to one where anybody and everybody can get a place and be passed out at the end, whether or not they're suited for the kind of academic work they'll be faced with.
Probably most doting parents (and grandparents) like to think that their own kids are brilliant, but it's a fact of modern life that school-leavers are not being prepared for the realities of life - parents and children are being hoodwinked into believing that a university degree will open any and every door they might knock at. That opens up a whole can full of worms to discuss, such as mounting debt, the demise of apprenticeships for the practical rather than academic, and the question of what the resulting degrees are actually worth in the long run.
The education service needs a re-jig, which can't happen as long as universities are operating under the principles of a slick business model.
Monty Don is retiring from Gardeners’ World
