I don't know what you consider government, but the public schools I attended constantly told students that you had to go to college to be successful, no matter what degree you got.
I'm not sure what the exact messaging your school told, but I imagine it's something to the effect of "degree holders earn x% more than non-degree holders on average", which is a true statement. The "on average" part might not been stressed, but anyone with rudimentary knowledge of how the labor market works (ie. some jobs pay more than other jobs) should be able to figure out that earning potential by degree varies.
It's been a long time, but if I recall correctly, funding and rankings were partially determined by the number of high school graduates continuing on to college. There was constant pressure to take the right classes and participate in the right activities to meet college admissions requirements. The messaging came from administrators, teachers and counselors.
The educational system utterly fails at equipping every graduate with the knowledge and skills to succeed in the modern economy in the 14 years they have already. Why are we giving them four more years of everyone’s life and hundreds of billions of dollars more money?
Exactly, that's the scam. Requiring a 'Tax' that you pay the college that is nothing but a useless piece of paper, that makes you lose years and enslave you in debt.