my 2c, as others have said, VFR into IMC has been a problem forever. I do not know if it is more prevalent now, suspect it is not but do not have evidence to categorically say.
I seem to remember an article in one of the old Aviation Safety Digests lamenting how regularly they reported the same VFR->IFR story over and over again and seem to recall(?) the writer asking whether reporting the stories in ASD really made any difference because it kept happening.
The idea students should have instrument training so they can simply do a 180 on instruments and get clear of IMC seems a bit trite to me. I suspect a lot of VFR into IMC happens more gradually and people get suckered into IFR like the frog in boiling water. By the time they go on instruments a 180 turn into the clear is not going to be available.
Sometimes I worry students get over confident about their ability to handle the aircraft on instruments if they have a high natural aptitude and their PPL BIF training goes well. Doesn't mean we should abandon that training but it is not a cure and sometimes can give people a false sense of their ability. Do not abandon that but it is not a cure, it just helps mitigate bad outcomes in some cases.
I worry that the proliferation of GPS solutions and EFBs and panel GPS's means people are more confident about pushing on because they feel confident of navigating where in the 'old' days the fear of losing contact with the ground or having limited vis meant they were more reluctant to press on. It may save the day as well but also may cause situations to occur that didn't in the past.
Ultimately I see it is a human factors issue. Teaching human factors (in the sense of teaching people to not be human!) is I believe one of the hardest tasks of instructors and one I feel we do not really have a good grasp on how best to do it yet.
No simple answers.