I dealt with this issue back in 1990 when I was an academic advisor at a major university. That is of course well before COVID. The problem is that primary education left teaching real math, science, reading, writing, and history a long time ago. Instead it’s all about indoctrination (there are of course exceptions). And it has been getting worse since then. A lot worse.
It's all about indoctrination as well as fostering a "need" to bring in foreigners to take over grad school seats and elite professions