I remember reading that Education is a trillion dollar market, so i'm not sure about the financial outcome being poor, only the state of how that money is spent and obligated can differ greatly.
- K-12, Academia/Colleges/Universities, Industry/Training, Adult learning, increasingly experts teaching directly, and more.
Most people aren't aware of the differentiation of the categories because they get to work inside one for the most part.
The learners in each category are different.
Duolingo had it's share of naysayers and doubters, but it did provide it's own take on a learning outcome.
Your post does make me wonder about the existing spend in Education, and how much could/should be EdTech with today's capabilities, or even the capabilities of 10 years ago, and what looking at that with a lens like yours might show, if anything.
They're just outside of K-12 and Academia, who don't necessarily keep the gap close to the real world and it's needs post-graduation
The value in learning is what you do with it, the credential can be a part of the journey but not always. People were definitely about the brand, and it's value, of the stamp of a piece of paper, however given the experience of recent graduates the past 5 years, it's revealing itself to not be an aberration that's going to give way to the 500-1000 years preceeding it.