Libertarianism

The same reason we compel everyone to absurd amounts of schooling and every job nowadays requires a college degree for no reason. Academics are the be-all end-all to everything according to this generation, so if you excel in it you're a leader and if you don't you're basically considered a bad person.

Academics are also a very easy method to brainwash people into submission. Part of the reason support for authoritarianism is increasing is because young people have spent their whole lives sitting down, obeying instructions like robots, and never questioning authority, facing severe punishment if they dare step out of line. To them, strong authority is a given and they have never dreamed of freedom.