Further on the government funding aspect: in fact, the government will subsidise aviation-related degree studies. There are quite a few aerospace and aviation related courses available at degree level which attract exactly the same government funding as any other degree. However, the government will not subsidise the acquisition of professional skills for private industry - and I can't see that changing.
You may point to accountancy and legal degrees, but accountants and lawyers, like pilots, have to undergo a great deal of post-graduate training at their own expense before they can practise their professions. Flying ain't the poor relation! You'll find that those who elect to go to the Bar, for instance, can end up paying every bit as much as a pilot. The same is true even for those who, as mature students, go back to university to study medicine. Even those who take medicine straight from school are likely to end up with debts of £30k or more after 5 years of university, and that's for a socially-demanded and mandated occupation. Believe me - I've had to pay the bills!
Scroggs