Quote: Rock God X "When did we get to the stage that education in itself is no longer a good thing?'"
It is a good thing and the system facilitates those that genuinely have a passion for a subject to be able to get a student loan and do it. You will get some really keen students of Archaelogy, Philosophy, English Lit etc that really love their subject and that's why they did it rather than thinking they'd get a job at the end of it, that's fair enough.
The problem is many many graduates, just went to university for a three year booze up with a halfhearted interest and commitment in their subject, and tried to cram everything in about a 3 week revision/assignment writing session before the exams and then wonder why they got a 2:2. They aren't going there for the sake of education in itself, they are going because they want an environment where they can move out of home, live with other young people, have no parents keeping an eye on them, drink lots of booze and go to parties, see if they can get lucky with the opposite sex etc.