No need to be sorry, the insight is interesting. Australia is starting to have some similar issues in regards to treating education as a business, there has been a few protests recently in regards to how Australian politicians are viewing education. TAFE is similar to what you mentioned in regards to Adult Schools, Community Colleges, ect. in that you pay a sum and that will not guarantee you a degree, but until recently the sum was relatively cheap. Sadly though, it looks like that wont last and some degrees will be as expensive as $2,000 to try your hand at the one year course. Though I have not checked recently to see whether that was still a prominent probability or if it is already the case.

I remember reading that there was some concern in regards to the budget recently released by the prominent political party in Australia, some of it's figures indicated that in Australia, there were certain degrees you couldn't hope to pay off under the wages you'd earn for the most prominent profession of said degree. Which is honestly, quite disgusting. If that doesn't tell you there is something wrong with an education system, then what exactly can? It's sad to see knowledge as a commodity to be sold like one would sell clothes or a house.

I can understand the sentiment behind some of the detractors of the above point of views, but making education more expensive seems only to hinder more than it would help when you contrast where money could and should be shifted from, especially in Australia.

~ Also I'll be doing a post tomorrow, got some other topics chewing my time up tonight!