Why would they need to know how to drive a manual when it's unlikely they will ever encounter one?
Do you know how to start a car with a crank starter?
I started plenty of bikes with a kick starter, a hand crank would not be too hard to figure out.
Until very recently, had a manual trans WRX
Can you crank-start a car? Even some of the toughest people got their arms broken executing that move.
Comparing crank-start cars versus electric-starter cars to manual versus automatic transmissions is a false dilemma. And it was the electric starter that pushed gasoline-powered cars to the fore, frankly, versus steam power and even fully electric cars.