Great post. Fully agree with all comments to date. I notice that all us who have been around a bit are saying the same thing!
Alarming lack of under-pinning knowledge in some cases. Had a UK student who didn't even know where Italy was, others need a calculator to work out 5% of 10,000 kg.
Regretfully I believe this is a reflection on the league table education system, whereby secondary schools can select an easier examination board so their results look better. The only people this is actually failing are the poor students who when entering the real world have a culture shock.
On the good side, there are some very capable & able students coming through the system who actually do want to know their stuff not just remembering answer C. Hopefully they will work their way up into positions that count and start asking some serious questions about the current "system".