"A technical school can't teach engineering or architecture or science or any number of the vital disciplines required for the 21st century."
Arguably, neither do most colleges.
In fact, I used to be a neigbor to Purdue. I recall a time when I (the liberal arts guy) went on a canoe trip with a bunch of EE and ME students. After watching them struggle to put up the tent for 15 min I finally jumped in and had it up in 2-3 minutes.
Any number of people will tell you that the university training doesn't really train you to do a job, but rather proves that you are trainable when you get to your first job where they train you!
Depends on the students.
Look, the last "big idea" was more than half a century ago when a couple of guys hooked up a pair of alligator clips to a hunk of rock in New Jersey.
Whoever gets to the next "big idea" wins the next century. And the only way to get the next "big idea" is through education.