wow... this is quite a thread drift!
I agree that we shouldn't condem this poor instructor without hearing his side. If you asked each of my students how many more flights until they go solo, I'm sure they would give a very different answer to me. Some would say many less than I would, others would say more. This is simply because they do not know the syllabus inside out like I do, and they have no scale to judge their own ability by.
So when the OP says he is close to solo, he may well mean that his instructor intends to send him solo after the next flight. On the other hand, he could have quite a few flights left to do, fully covering flapless, glide and other circuit emergencies. On the other hand, he may simply have 11 hours and think that everyone goes solo at 12?
I agree that the instructing standards are generally quite poor. I know quite a few people who see it purely as a stepping stone to bigger things, and I hate to see them doing any more than trial lessons.