this is exactly how admin bloat starts. Now we nee a dean of "Real, Concrete Goals", and some arbitrary metrics to 'measure progress' towards those goals, and more administrative underlings to enforce and measure those metrics...
Because obviously the current system of giving academics freedom to pursue their interests is just 'inefficient'.
I was writing more or less your text in response to a related comment, but you are exactly right.
The system is so broken that that only response would be to hire some "director" or "dean" of "making our education relevant again".
There is no solution other than blowing up the entire system. Maybe intentionally bankrupting some Universities would be a strong enough signal such that the ones that actually do want to stay relevant will self-select into a reform model.
Because obviously the current system of giving academics freedom to pursue their interests is just 'inefficient'.