I don't think people are criticizing education. I think that a lot of people who have gotten degrees are looking back on their college education and wondering about the cost - particularly if they graduated with a degree that isn't leading into a comfortable career.

Universities in America are very expensive (even when you compensate for state aid). I remember getting a mailing from Amherst College back when I was applying to schools a decade ago noting that while the sticker price was in the mid-$30,000 range, the college was actually spending tens of thousands more than that price per student. I think it was to tell people, "even if you're paying full price, you're still getting a good deal." What stuck with me was the amount being spent.

Looking at many other countries with respectable third level education systems, they're spending less. According to the OECD, the United States spends $29,201 per student while the European Union spends $12,967. Over four years, that amounts to $64,936. If you consider that in many countries Arts Degrees are 3-year programs, the savings becomes $77,903.

So, even if one thinks education is wonderful, one can question "why is it becoming so expensive? what are American universities doing wrong?"

Similarly, there has been (although it's going away a bit) this idea that "the school matters more than the program" or "it's the Bachelor's degree that you need, not any specific skill." Being against those trains of thought isn't anti-intellectual. If anything, it's pro-intellectual. It's saying that you should learn good things rather than trying to take the easiest course at the place with the best reputation. Still, I think there are people questioning their undergraduate expense if they entered without much of a plan (college was simply "the next thing people of my status do"). Many of my friends have had to spend a year taking additional classes to prepare for a graduate program their undergrad didn't prepare them for - because they didn't know what they wanted to do at the time.

Here on HN, we typically dislike things like power imbalances, high prices, places that seem to have a lock on the market, etc. Universities can exemplify those things. Many people need formal education and universities do have valuable things to offer. However, I think a reasonable person who has been around universities will have seen a lot of money spent on things simply because the money is around; because students will pay it. That's bad.

To make an analogy: when people criticize certain ISPs, they aren't saying that they don't find the internet valuable. When it comes down to it, I think most of us would part with $150+ for our internet connection. However, we don't evaluate price simply in terms of what we get out of it, but also with an eye toward whether the service is being offered at an efficient, fair price. If my ISP forced me to pay $150/mo, I probably would. The internet has high value to me. But, in that case, I would complain. Even if my ISP's margins were low (or even not-for-profit), I would question the efficiency with which they were provisioning my service; I would question whether they were wise with their spending; I would question whether they had a staffing mixture appropriate for their business; I would question whether their leadership knew what they needed to do in order to provide good service at an affordable price. I would question this because I would look at other, similar countries where people were being provisioned internet of substantially similar quality for substantially less money.