Blame the clueless parents? Sure, they don't know how to raise their kids. The teachers? Yes, also, as it's their job to educate. Institutions? Bussissness? The government? They have so much in their hands that the average Joe is not
even in their priority list. An uncaring community? Absolutely, even though it's an oxymoron.
In the end, who gets screwed the most is the student, and the
worst thing he, or she could do, is enter this finger-pointing contest. As I see, the only blame one can safely assign is on the student itself.
Now, it's easy to shift the frame a bit to the side, and include an innocuous-looking, youth-destroyer: the internet. Or the newest Call of Duty, or cellphones, or porn. Or bad company, bad parenting, bad schooling, bad training, bad counseling, and bad acceptance. Violent games, alienating culture, mass media, brainwash, misguided brainwash. Conformism and rebellion. No faith, half-assed faith, normal faith, extreme faith, communism, capitalism, oppression, idealism. And, possibly on top, an "individualistic and egocentric society".
... and then, just at the end of this spiral, we're back to finger-pointing.
If someone enrolls in an engineering course with insufficient math knowledge, it only shows, in most cases, non-commitment, especially in areas with free or cheap access to the internet, libraries, and bookstores (which lets guests read books as long as they are inside the store). Which, I'm guessing, is the case in most of the UK.
An even more personal opinion: those who try to solve everything, end up worsening the situation*. To improve yourself and contribute to the world, act in that order.
* On a light-hearted note, this phrase is akin to
this.
