I also despair that it's used as a beginner language. There are so many better options. I even include Java in that list.

So why is it used? As it has a fantastic eco-system for applied statistics / machine learning / various math things. If you're teaching an introduction to programming then it's a very effective language.

That and once people progress it's decent - much prefer the code written in Python by competent developers to that written in Java or even Go. It also sets people up to use more robust languages such as C# or (for those with a Math background) Haskell.