These certifications are terrifying for people working in tech on non-FAANG teams. It's the ultimate form of corporate cargo culting. Google technology is already taking over nearly every engineering team I've ever been a part of. There's no reason other than "Google uses it so it must be good".
These programs already exist (code camps) and are dubious in nature. I have no doubt Google's program will be just as dubious. Given the rapid pace of technological change favor is given to software engineers who can adapt rather than "experts in React/Angular/<hot technology>". These types of engineers are not found in code camps, and not necessarily the product of a 4 year degree.
Universities were never meant to be job programs. If they were I wouldn't have had to take theoretical computer science and literature classes. I learned how to think rather than "do a job", which unsurprisingly, has helped me succeed at my job when problems get more tough than cramming a round peg into a hole.
The answer is free money. It's no different than NINJA loans during the housing crisis. Load up the bottom of the barrel debtors with insane amounts of leverage, tell them to buy whatever they want, and asset prices rise accordingly. If you treat the cost of education as an asset then the situation is exactly the same with one extra caveat - you can't discharge student loans through bankruptcy.
Majority of University costs are in administration (as a result of free money). Ignoring cost and politics the University system is fine as the premier method of higher learning. You're not there to get a job. Rather, you are there to be taught how to think. The distinction there is critical.
