[noodle]

I think it depends where you are... Educational systems like the French and Japanese ones are rubbish in my opinion... it forces too much on students that end up being relatively crap to other systems like the British. I always hear random people say that, omg, the Japanese system is the hardest ever, they have to learn SO MUCH... The truth is, from my experience, Japanese students that are excellent in high school, end up struggling at French universities... I have a classmate here at uni that got accepted easily to Todai, yet the first year, he stuggled big time. I had to help him out... and it wasn't even a problem with languages... he had rubbish knowledge of Integrals, Differentiation etc. The only strong point he had in Math, was Geometry and basic Algebra.
Some French students are the same... they have such a broad education, that when they come to selecting a route/subject for higher education, they end up being too weak compared to the English who make you choose at Senior High School...

So, I think it comes down to the age old debate of, what's better, broad education, or specific education...