>the idea of having a meaningful certificate in something like history is sort of ridiculous.

I totally agree. But tell that to the universities.

>or are you suggesting that we create hundreds of government history certification agencies?

I’m suggesting that this is what we already have, because universities are tax-exempt, so on a fundamental level all professors already do work for the government. We could just keep all the history professors employed, but in the service of a more meritocratic rubber-stamp than the current rubber-stamp game which is based on prestige and SAT scores and various other bullshit factors.