I’d wager a lot of students just don’t care because they really shouldn’t.
Thanks to the internet, and now AI, pretty much all the information they’ll ever need is right at their fingertips.
Why would they focus on academia which teaches them to make things harder on themselves so it’s easier on teachers?
Also, modern schools are just propaganda mills these days anyways. Their goals are to get students to conform and waste money at college.
I’m a firm believer that academia is not for everyone, and we shouldn’t be forcing it to be. It should be there for those who want it, and nothing is wrong with those who don’t.