Who's universities are they?

"corporate"; whose interests turn people into objects of profit and consumption:

And the games people play!

Bet you're a whiz with differential calculus Alan.

"There were six universities and 13,000 students in 1939, and when I enrolled at the University of New England in 1954, there were perhaps twice as many students, plus a seventh university, the ANU."

The University of New England was the ninth University established in Australia in 1954. The University of New South Wales was established in 1949 and the Australian National University in 1946. These had been added to 6 Universities established prior to 1914.

One of the needs for Universities in the current age is that many old-fashioned jobs no longer exist. There is no need for messenger boys, tinkers, blacksmiths, stokers, and a range of manual labour now mostly done by machines or not required. Occupations have become more skilled and more training is needed for them.