That's because it used to be that <30% of high-school students would step foot inside a university, _i.e._ just getting a degree meant you were ahead of the pack and well-employable.

Nowadays, literally anyone can obtain a degree. You've got to have something more to show if you want to stand out. The "more" part is poorly defined by design, of course.

To add even more to this already dismal situation, education fees have gone through the roof to ensure that smart people of low extraction don't get too much leverage against people who are powerful by right of birth.

Education has become an industry just like any other. This decadence makes me extremely sad.