It's a false assumption that because that is the way things are that it is the way things ought to be, and that they couldn't be arrived any other (much less any better way).
This is a pretty typical response to any limitations on government--"but who will build the roads?"
There are two basic problems
1st: Your unwritten implication is that if government does these basic things then it must necessarily assert even bigger economic control--such as higher education--which is a false deduction.
2nd: You imply that only the government can do these things or that government does it best. Also a false deduction. Practical experience says otherwise.