I don't think you understand how the bureaucracy is staffed. The bureaucrats who's jobs are protected are accountable directly or indirectly to people who are not. Basically if you are doing your job "too well" it will be bad on the metrics of someone directly or indirectly above you and your boss will prevent you from doing your job that well which is not something you want if you want a successful career as a bureaucrat. This is kids who live in a single party state get a crap education in history or science (which depends on the color of the state).

> "after all, most people are well aware of the sorry state of our K12 education."

K-12 education is not so blanketly "sorry". basic literacy has been at 99% for decades. could it be better? potentially. obviously so? not really, at least not to a sufficient level of consensus.

with that said, i'd love to see rationalism (not just logic, but also inductive reasoning) taught and honed throughout primary/secondary school to improve our collective abilities to discern and deconstruct narratives of all kinds.