Well I'm sorry if I think students are being tricked into doing useless degrees because people like you say "feel free to study what you want." If you want to be a surfer, take the money you'd spend on 3 years of university and go work in a surf shop, move to a tropical climate and surf to your heart's content. I'm not being a snob, but it's not in the best interests of the government to fund these degree, or for the students to take out loans to study things that three years in a classroom will not properly teach you anyway.
Besides, I really don't think there is massive growth in the UK's surf industry, as it's a rocky, cold island. Perhaps if this was offered in Fiju or Hawaii, it would make a small amount of sense.